Friday, August 20, 2010
Thursday, July 15, 2010
When Obee laughs...
When Obee laughs, I can’t help but giggle with him
When Obee laughs, the world somehow seems right for once.
When Obee laughs, I am reminded that maybe, just maybe, my time here did make a difference in someone’s life….
It took a while to get Obee to smile. It took about 2 weeks to figure out how to get him to smile at me…he’s ticklish. It took me 3 weeks to get him to voluntarily smile at me and about that amount of time to get him to play with me and some of the other children. By week four he was running up to me as soon as he got there, playing with other kids, and LAUGHING! He also began to actually TALK to me at the end of the week. Today, he laughed more than he even had before. And on top of that, he SPOKE to me…voluntarily! Before I even asked him how is day was or how school went. Maybe I’m not supposed to say this but oh well. About 2 weeks into holiday club, Obee came in not feeling well, and one of the volunteers asked if he had eaten that day; he said no. She asked if he had eaten the night before; he said no. So he ate an apple and then had lunch when we served it. But it broke my heart…he’s so tiny! Then at the beginning of week 4, I randomly asked one of the other children who plays with Obee and I, why he doesn’t talk to anyone. Expecting to hear that he only really speaks Afrikaans, I was shocked when this was her response. “His mommy yells at him and hits him all the time. His daddy too.” ………………………………… What?................................. No………….This can’t be real.
But the reality for SO many children in Capricorn, in Cape Town, and in the whole world is that they don’t know love. Like Obee, it could take them weeks to open up to someone who loves them. It breaks my heart. I knew that Obee had a trust barrier; that was obvious. But I really hoped it was just that I was WHITE or something haha. It is good, however, to know that Christ has come and can change that. He can love those who don't have it. Whether that be through a Living Hope Life Skill Educator, a church, or some crazy white girl from America, GOD has loved us so that we can Love others; we CAN be the Hands and Feet of God. YOU can help make another little Obee laugh....
Although Obee chose my last day- of all days- to be naughty and get sent home early for the first time EVER, today was a good day. We spent all of ‘play’ time, laughing and talking, and laughing some more. My last day in Capricorn could not have been any sweeter.
Natalie, Roger, Ilana, Stacy, and Shagmie- all of the Life Skill Educators for Capricorn and it’s connecting township, Overcome Heights,- joined all of us volunteers for some AMAZING ice cream at this place called Sinnful Temptations haha. It was SO wonderful to spend my last Club afternoon with them, even if just for a few minutes. I just love them. If there is one thing I would change about my time here, it is that I just did not spend as much time as I would have liked with the Life Skill Educators and other local volunteers. I’m telling you, they are fabulous. They are the true heroes of Living Right and I have been forever changed by simply knowing them; just being around them for 6 weeks has shown me a little bit more of what it looks like to Follow Jesus.
I will get to say goodbye on Monday, my last full day here before my plane takes off at 11:55pm. It’s certainly bittersweet. Where I am saddened at the thought of saying goodbye to all the friendships I have built here, I am equally just as excited, if not more excited, to get home and reunite with the friends that I have had since pre-school; The family that I have only seen via computer screen on Skype for 6 weeks. I’m excited to come home and show pictures, tell stories, and have dinners with my friends that turn into sleepovers that don’t last very long because none of us can stay up past 9pm without falling asleep because we are all grandma’s at heart. To sit on the back porch with my parents in the morning while they drink their halfcaf coffee and I drink my South African rooibos tea, and we swap summer stories. I can’t wait. I absolutely cannot wait.
But for now, I must say that today might have been the best day ever. I got a FULL tour of Living Hope since I was unable to have one when I got here because things were crazy. I am still processing. Again, Living Hope is incredible. No wait. GOD is incredible. Living Hope is just the vessel through which He loves on the people of this city. I had a wonderful last day of Club, as I said earlier. I got to talk with my parents which always makes my day! And I had a much needed conversation with Christy Ridings (among many other wonderful things, Christy is a Univeristy Minister at Belmont- she also basically helped open the door for me to come to South Africa- Thanks Christy!!) that just gave me SUCH a Peace about what this year might look like for me when I go back to school. This week, that has been one of the main things that the Enemy has been taunting me with, so that conversation was definitely ordained by God. I don’t know. Best day ever? Maybe.
I know I said I had exciting news for you yesterday, but yesterday our power in the house decided to go out. I know you think I am probably always making this stuff up, but alas, I am not. And since the power/internet always seems to go out when I make a promise of some kind to blog, I will just tell you the exciting news next time I get a chance!
Praying for you!
To God be the Glory,
AC
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
6 More Sunsets left...
So, I am sitting in my room watching the sun go down. This is definitely my favorite part of the day. But I only get to watch 6 more sunsets here in South Africa, and that fact is beginning to settle in....bittersweet. As the sun sets, the moon is rising and the stars are coming out from their hiding places. The moon seems so close that I feel as if I could touch it. I'm not trying to be dramatic or anything, I'm just stating a fact. This place is just so beautiful.
As a side note- I'm also wishing I had some good instrumental Celtic hymns in my iTunes...it just fits my mood right now :), but alas, I will just have to settle for Sigur Ros...
Holiday Club ended last Friday with a bang! Living Hope sponsored a HUGE tournament, inviting ALL the children, ages 7 and up, who were consistent at Club to attend. It was a BLAST! Although, all the adults, myself included, agreed that just that ONE day felt like an entire WEEK of Holiday Club at the end of it. It was quite hectic...I think somewhere around 1,000 kids were in attendance. We bused them in from all the townships and of course there were wonderful volunteers from the area that helped out. We hosted soccer and netball tournaments that seemed to go over really well. Capricorn did really well, if I do say so myself. We won in both sports for several different age brackets...Auntie Anna was quite proud to say the least. I stayed with the non-sporting children throughout the day and we went around to different stations and played games, did crafts, had Bible quizzes, etc. Praise God for his faithfulness! It very easily could have rained that day; there was no way of knowing. And so much advanced planning was involved that rain would have just been devastating. God is good. And I believe it is HE who gets the glory for that day. These kids received a day that they may never forget. Hallelujah!
If you've been keeping up with my recent blogs, then you know that things here in South Africa have been quite chaotic. Xenophobia has had us all on our toes, waiting and watching. It is only our Lord who can be given praise for the lack of violence in the recent days! Threats have been coming for months now, and the fact that nothing has happened is nothing short of an Act of God...seriously. Living Hope is still fully prepared if something were to happen, but my prayer...OUR prayer is that Peace would continue to reign. The police and security around here are fully prepared as well. They have been great about responding quickly to calls placed by locals who are watching for suspicious activity. God is good, yes? Thank you for your prayers! God is listening!
Oh goodness. There is so much to catch you all up on. I have been terrible in the recent weeks about sitting down to share with you. The internet has not helped with that either. Hopefully, some updates will come soon!
Until then, God be with you!
AC
P.S.- I will be sharing some VERY exciting news with you all tomorrow, so be sure to watch for any updates!
As a side note- I'm also wishing I had some good instrumental Celtic hymns in my iTunes...it just fits my mood right now :), but alas, I will just have to settle for Sigur Ros...
Holiday Club ended last Friday with a bang! Living Hope sponsored a HUGE tournament, inviting ALL the children, ages 7 and up, who were consistent at Club to attend. It was a BLAST! Although, all the adults, myself included, agreed that just that ONE day felt like an entire WEEK of Holiday Club at the end of it. It was quite hectic...I think somewhere around 1,000 kids were in attendance. We bused them in from all the townships and of course there were wonderful volunteers from the area that helped out. We hosted soccer and netball tournaments that seemed to go over really well. Capricorn did really well, if I do say so myself. We won in both sports for several different age brackets...Auntie Anna was quite proud to say the least. I stayed with the non-sporting children throughout the day and we went around to different stations and played games, did crafts, had Bible quizzes, etc. Praise God for his faithfulness! It very easily could have rained that day; there was no way of knowing. And so much advanced planning was involved that rain would have just been devastating. God is good. And I believe it is HE who gets the glory for that day. These kids received a day that they may never forget. Hallelujah!
If you've been keeping up with my recent blogs, then you know that things here in South Africa have been quite chaotic. Xenophobia has had us all on our toes, waiting and watching. It is only our Lord who can be given praise for the lack of violence in the recent days! Threats have been coming for months now, and the fact that nothing has happened is nothing short of an Act of God...seriously. Living Hope is still fully prepared if something were to happen, but my prayer...OUR prayer is that Peace would continue to reign. The police and security around here are fully prepared as well. They have been great about responding quickly to calls placed by locals who are watching for suspicious activity. God is good, yes? Thank you for your prayers! God is listening!
Oh goodness. There is so much to catch you all up on. I have been terrible in the recent weeks about sitting down to share with you. The internet has not helped with that either. Hopefully, some updates will come soon!
Until then, God be with you!
AC
P.S.- I will be sharing some VERY exciting news with you all tomorrow, so be sure to watch for any updates!
Monday, July 12, 2010
Thank You
WOW! I just got off the phone with my parents and all I can say is WOW! I knew that many of you prayed last night, but I had NO idea how many. My parents told me stories that just put the biggest smile on my face and brought so much comfort to my heart. I now believe, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that God heard the cries of His people all over the world last night, interceding on behalf of Masi and Capricorn. My one prayer request to my parents and Carolina WENT OUT among the Body of Christ and you all did something with it. Thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.
Also, to clarify about the previous post...
Not ALL of the Xhosa people are behind the threats and attacks. In fact, many of them are not. I just want to make that clear. Many Xhosa's are wonderful peaceful people who love the Lord...but as in all cultures all over the world, many are without Christ, and without Love. I just wanted you all to know that.
Thank you, again, for your prayers.
To God be all of the Glory!
ac
Also, to clarify about the previous post...
Not ALL of the Xhosa people are behind the threats and attacks. In fact, many of them are not. I just want to make that clear. Many Xhosa's are wonderful peaceful people who love the Lord...but as in all cultures all over the world, many are without Christ, and without Love. I just wanted you all to know that.
Thank you, again, for your prayers.
To God be all of the Glory!
ac
Xenophobia
Xenophobia (pronounced 'Zenophobia')- an unreasonable fear or hatred of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange.
Do not freak out at this entry. Please. If at any point you feel any kind of uneasiness, I would just ask that you pray. Worrying does absolutely nothing. As Followers of Jesus, we know that the battle has already been won, yes?
I will also say that I am fine. All of us here are fine.
Alright, now that I have your full attention, let me explain the word and definition mentioned above.
All of South Africa is experiencing what can be called a Xenophobic crisis. There are many South Africans, most of them Xhosa (pronounced Kosah), who are extremely frustrated, angry, and bitter toward all of the foreigners from Zimbabwe, Somalia, Malawi, and other places who are 'taking their jobs.' From what I have heard, the Xhosa people were most affected by apartheid and feel a large since of entitlement since its banishment in 1994. I'm not saying this in an ugly way, this just seems to be a fact. All of this boils down to employment or their lack of it. Let me try to explain; if two men, one Xhosa and one from ZIM, are standing on the road waiting for someone to come by and offer them a job (this happens, by the way) and an outdoor job is offered for R100 (100 rand), the Xhosa wants more money for his hard labor but the man from ZIM wants any money he can get, therefore the man from ZIM says he'll take the job. The Xhosa then says "Well, he took my job." This is how it has been explained to me, so I hope you are able to follow. Either way, animosity is growing, and we are all afraid that action is about to be carried out...probably through violence. Apparently, the last time this happened, many women were raped and shoved out of their homes....it's stuff like this that we fear.
Many threats have been made and some attacks have actually been carried out. You should know that since before the World Cup came, many Xhosa's within the townships were threatening and telling the foreigners within the townships that as soon as the World Cup was over, they were going to kick them out, etc, etc. We do know that people in the communities are all armed and ready, on both sides.
Well, the World Cup is over. SO, Living Hope is gearing up for what MIGHT happen. Masiphumelele and Capricorn are where attacks are most expected to take place. Both have a large portion of both Xhosa's and foreigners. Capricorn, in case you haven't been keeping up with previous blogs, is the community in which I have been working for the past 5 weeks. I have grown to love the people there, especially the children, obviously. With that said, will you join me in praying for Capricorn? That the Peace of God would reign; that no attacks would actually be carried out; and that if should anything happen, the children would be safe. Living Hope has offered its building there as a safe haven for people to come and calm down before finding a more permanent place to seek safety. I cannot bare the thought of anything happening to my sweet precious babies. I know that they are in God's hands, and He loves them so much more than I ever could. But still, it would be fantastic if these threats would become a thing of the past.
Masiphumelele- located almost directly across the street from the Living Hope Community Center which is right down the road from our house. I just got back from the LHCC where some of the other volunteers and I worked to prepare the chapel and other rooms for what MIGHT happen in the near future. If anything takes places, people in Masi can seek safety there for a few hours until they move out to find a more permanent place. If it gets real bad, some of us may be called in to help. We have a freshly graduated nurse here who will help with trauma counseling and others who will be a great help to anyone who might come in. We will have other people in healthcare who will help bandage wounds and what-not. Me? If I am asked to help, I have no idea what I will do. Serve food? Distribute blankets. Who knows. I just want to be the hands and feet of Jesus.
Let's pray that none of this happens. Let's pray that the Peace of God would reign across South Africa tonight and the following weeks. But that if He chooses to allow it to happen, that His Gospel would be spread and that He would use this time to show people His Love, His Healing, His Comfort, His Forgiveness.
No fear here. All of us will be perfectly safe, and we have been instructed on what to do if we ever do face danger, but this probably won't happen.
Last night, many of you prayed, and I am grateful for that. At 3am here this morning (8pm your time), when attacks were supposedly going to be carried out, some of us in the house got up to pray. It was a good time of clinging to God, and interceding on behalf of our friends in Masi and Capricorn. Please join us again tonight in praying for them.
This is real life, folks. I went to bed last night thinking of the mothers and fathers in Masi and Capricorn, tucking in their children then going to sit by the door, waiting...watching...wondering if they would get to tuck their children into bed again.
And this happens all over the world everyday....
what if this was you?
What if it was your wife in danger of being raped?
what if it was your children in danger of losing their parents in violent and unforgettable ways?
Would you want someone to do something about it if they could?
Would you want someone who could actually do something about it to ignore it?
Would you want someone to pray for you?
What do YOU want to do right now?
Do it.
Grace and Peace to you in the name of Jesus Christ,
AC
Do not freak out at this entry. Please. If at any point you feel any kind of uneasiness, I would just ask that you pray. Worrying does absolutely nothing. As Followers of Jesus, we know that the battle has already been won, yes?
I will also say that I am fine. All of us here are fine.
Alright, now that I have your full attention, let me explain the word and definition mentioned above.
All of South Africa is experiencing what can be called a Xenophobic crisis. There are many South Africans, most of them Xhosa (pronounced Kosah), who are extremely frustrated, angry, and bitter toward all of the foreigners from Zimbabwe, Somalia, Malawi, and other places who are 'taking their jobs.' From what I have heard, the Xhosa people were most affected by apartheid and feel a large since of entitlement since its banishment in 1994. I'm not saying this in an ugly way, this just seems to be a fact. All of this boils down to employment or their lack of it. Let me try to explain; if two men, one Xhosa and one from ZIM, are standing on the road waiting for someone to come by and offer them a job (this happens, by the way) and an outdoor job is offered for R100 (100 rand), the Xhosa wants more money for his hard labor but the man from ZIM wants any money he can get, therefore the man from ZIM says he'll take the job. The Xhosa then says "Well, he took my job." This is how it has been explained to me, so I hope you are able to follow. Either way, animosity is growing, and we are all afraid that action is about to be carried out...probably through violence. Apparently, the last time this happened, many women were raped and shoved out of their homes....it's stuff like this that we fear.
Many threats have been made and some attacks have actually been carried out. You should know that since before the World Cup came, many Xhosa's within the townships were threatening and telling the foreigners within the townships that as soon as the World Cup was over, they were going to kick them out, etc, etc. We do know that people in the communities are all armed and ready, on both sides.
Well, the World Cup is over. SO, Living Hope is gearing up for what MIGHT happen. Masiphumelele and Capricorn are where attacks are most expected to take place. Both have a large portion of both Xhosa's and foreigners. Capricorn, in case you haven't been keeping up with previous blogs, is the community in which I have been working for the past 5 weeks. I have grown to love the people there, especially the children, obviously. With that said, will you join me in praying for Capricorn? That the Peace of God would reign; that no attacks would actually be carried out; and that if should anything happen, the children would be safe. Living Hope has offered its building there as a safe haven for people to come and calm down before finding a more permanent place to seek safety. I cannot bare the thought of anything happening to my sweet precious babies. I know that they are in God's hands, and He loves them so much more than I ever could. But still, it would be fantastic if these threats would become a thing of the past.
Masiphumelele- located almost directly across the street from the Living Hope Community Center which is right down the road from our house. I just got back from the LHCC where some of the other volunteers and I worked to prepare the chapel and other rooms for what MIGHT happen in the near future. If anything takes places, people in Masi can seek safety there for a few hours until they move out to find a more permanent place. If it gets real bad, some of us may be called in to help. We have a freshly graduated nurse here who will help with trauma counseling and others who will be a great help to anyone who might come in. We will have other people in healthcare who will help bandage wounds and what-not. Me? If I am asked to help, I have no idea what I will do. Serve food? Distribute blankets. Who knows. I just want to be the hands and feet of Jesus.
Let's pray that none of this happens. Let's pray that the Peace of God would reign across South Africa tonight and the following weeks. But that if He chooses to allow it to happen, that His Gospel would be spread and that He would use this time to show people His Love, His Healing, His Comfort, His Forgiveness.
No fear here. All of us will be perfectly safe, and we have been instructed on what to do if we ever do face danger, but this probably won't happen.
Last night, many of you prayed, and I am grateful for that. At 3am here this morning (8pm your time), when attacks were supposedly going to be carried out, some of us in the house got up to pray. It was a good time of clinging to God, and interceding on behalf of our friends in Masi and Capricorn. Please join us again tonight in praying for them.
This is real life, folks. I went to bed last night thinking of the mothers and fathers in Masi and Capricorn, tucking in their children then going to sit by the door, waiting...watching...wondering if they would get to tuck their children into bed again.
And this happens all over the world everyday....
what if this was you?
What if it was your wife in danger of being raped?
what if it was your children in danger of losing their parents in violent and unforgettable ways?
Would you want someone to do something about it if they could?
Would you want someone who could actually do something about it to ignore it?
Would you want someone to pray for you?
What do YOU want to do right now?
Do it.
Grace and Peace to you in the name of Jesus Christ,
AC
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
T.I.A.
This Is Africa. Haha. And thanks to Africa, internet has been down for quite a while now. I apologize that I have not been able to update as much as I would like! Please know that I am journaling as much as possible so as to give you all the best update EVER next time I have internet! Thank you so much for your prayers and encouragement.
1 week and a half and I will be back in the U.S.A.!!!
I am praying for you!
Serving Him,
AC
1 week and a half and I will be back in the U.S.A.!!!
I am praying for you!
Serving Him,
AC
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Then Sings My Soul...
It's almost the weekend. While here, I try to take in every moment and and not wish my life away, but BOY has this week been tough. We have a wonderful team here this working with us in Capricorn from Shades Mountain Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL. They are fantastic! But the kids have been extra naughty this week, for sure. I am absolutely worn out. Not to mention the fact that some kind of sickness is making its way around the house and I believe it has found me....let's pray against that because I do NOT want to miss a moment of loving on these kids and sharing the Gospel with them.
Let's see. I am attempting to think about all that has happened in the past several days. You should know that everyday I come up with about 5 things that I want to share with everyone on my blog, but when I sit in front of my computer, I forget them. Go figure.
So I will talk about this until I can remember them. The enemy is so at work right now, which must mean that God is too. Spiritual warfare is at an all-time high for the first time since I arrived. I've been spending more time with the Lord and am learning SO much. I go back and forth between reading Radical by David Platt and The Hole in Our Gospel by Richard Stearns and in the Word I am reading through Luke. Yesterday, I got to read one of my favorite stories again; The story of the Sinful Woman anointing Jesus' feet...love it....
OH, I remembered.
This past Sunday at Capricorn Community Church, God truly worked in my heart. The Holy Spirit was alive and active and moving during that sweet service. I couldn't even hear myself sing, everyone was Praising Jesus so loudly. It was beautiful. But we sang a song, and even though I have heard and sung it a billion times, it meant so much this week.
I found that I had experienced all of the verses in this song in the past week.
O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.
One thing I need to say again, if I haven't said it before; Cape Town is BEAUTIFUL. The pastor said on Sunday "God had fun when he made this place." I think I agree. I have been so blown away, especially recently at how creative our God is. His creation is beautiful. But at the same time, it has come so far from what God intended it to be....Eden. I can see a bright blue sky adorned with waving clouds, almost reached by a mountain towering over the city...while standing in the middle of a township made of shacks with little tiny children running around me who have eaten nothing all day and are getting ready to grow up in a scary unsafe place.....
And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing;
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.
Something else that I was overwhelmed by was this: I know Jesus. The very same Jesus that I read about almost daily, and tell others about. The same Jesus that healed the sick, made the lame to walk, walked on water, cast out demons, fed 5,000, and died on a cross to reconcile me with my Creator. That same Jesus. I know him. The same Jesus that constantly stole away to secluded places to pray and talk to His Father...yea...I know Him. It just has blown my mind this week. I can't believe what He did. And I can't believe I know Him.
When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,
And then proclaim: "My God, how great Thou art!"
This weekend, a few of us went to see The Hurt Locker. I was overcome with a sense of helplessness. I see hurt. I see pain. I see poverty. I see confusion. I see fear. I see so much that I want to fix in the world. And I can't. I can't. I can't fix it all. In the movie, the places that our troops are in, man, do they need love. They need Jesus. Again, I was reminded of how far we have come from Eden. Our land is desolate. Our land is crying for its Creator. Our people are lost. And In the movie, I began to cry, not at the plot or anything, but because I just wanted Jesus to come back. Right then, I just want Him to come and fix it all. Mend what is broken. Comfort what is hurting. I just really really relate to this verse right now.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!
Amen....enough said. John 16:33 "In this world you will have trouble, but take heart! For God has overcome the world." How Great Thou Art.
I don't know when I will be able to update again. Internet will be down for quite a while, so I hear....oh TINA.
Love you all and praying for you!
AC
ps- Thank you SO much First Baptist Church, Olive Branch, for letting me Skype in with you on Sunday! I am SO thankful for you prayers, your interest in the Lord's work across the world, and your desire to be a part of it! I love you all! Miss you!
Let's see. I am attempting to think about all that has happened in the past several days. You should know that everyday I come up with about 5 things that I want to share with everyone on my blog, but when I sit in front of my computer, I forget them. Go figure.
So I will talk about this until I can remember them. The enemy is so at work right now, which must mean that God is too. Spiritual warfare is at an all-time high for the first time since I arrived. I've been spending more time with the Lord and am learning SO much. I go back and forth between reading Radical by David Platt and The Hole in Our Gospel by Richard Stearns and in the Word I am reading through Luke. Yesterday, I got to read one of my favorite stories again; The story of the Sinful Woman anointing Jesus' feet...love it....
OH, I remembered.
This past Sunday at Capricorn Community Church, God truly worked in my heart. The Holy Spirit was alive and active and moving during that sweet service. I couldn't even hear myself sing, everyone was Praising Jesus so loudly. It was beautiful. But we sang a song, and even though I have heard and sung it a billion times, it meant so much this week.
I found that I had experienced all of the verses in this song in the past week.
O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.
One thing I need to say again, if I haven't said it before; Cape Town is BEAUTIFUL. The pastor said on Sunday "God had fun when he made this place." I think I agree. I have been so blown away, especially recently at how creative our God is. His creation is beautiful. But at the same time, it has come so far from what God intended it to be....Eden. I can see a bright blue sky adorned with waving clouds, almost reached by a mountain towering over the city...while standing in the middle of a township made of shacks with little tiny children running around me who have eaten nothing all day and are getting ready to grow up in a scary unsafe place.....
And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing;
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.
Something else that I was overwhelmed by was this: I know Jesus. The very same Jesus that I read about almost daily, and tell others about. The same Jesus that healed the sick, made the lame to walk, walked on water, cast out demons, fed 5,000, and died on a cross to reconcile me with my Creator. That same Jesus. I know him. The same Jesus that constantly stole away to secluded places to pray and talk to His Father...yea...I know Him. It just has blown my mind this week. I can't believe what He did. And I can't believe I know Him.
When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,
And then proclaim: "My God, how great Thou art!"
This weekend, a few of us went to see The Hurt Locker. I was overcome with a sense of helplessness. I see hurt. I see pain. I see poverty. I see confusion. I see fear. I see so much that I want to fix in the world. And I can't. I can't. I can't fix it all. In the movie, the places that our troops are in, man, do they need love. They need Jesus. Again, I was reminded of how far we have come from Eden. Our land is desolate. Our land is crying for its Creator. Our people are lost. And In the movie, I began to cry, not at the plot or anything, but because I just wanted Jesus to come back. Right then, I just want Him to come and fix it all. Mend what is broken. Comfort what is hurting. I just really really relate to this verse right now.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!
Amen....enough said. John 16:33 "In this world you will have trouble, but take heart! For God has overcome the world." How Great Thou Art.
I don't know when I will be able to update again. Internet will be down for quite a while, so I hear....oh TINA.
Love you all and praying for you!
AC
ps- Thank you SO much First Baptist Church, Olive Branch, for letting me Skype in with you on Sunday! I am SO thankful for you prayers, your interest in the Lord's work across the world, and your desire to be a part of it! I love you all! Miss you!
Friday, June 18, 2010
Someone Once Told Me the Grass is Much Greener- On the Other Side
Today. I drove. On the other side of the car. AND the other side of the road. WHAT?!
Those of you who are well acquainted with my driving in AMERICA (stop laughing Carolina Salcedo and Alyson McHargue) will know that this is going to be quite the adventure for me. My new sweet friend Megan Newsome (go here to read her blog) and I decided that we didn't want to sit in the house all weekend when it is supposed to be such great weather, so we went in together to rent a car for the weekend! And we got the car for SUCH a great rate. I'm SO excited about all the stuff we will get to do without having to bum rides off of other volunteers (who happen to all be going SKYDIVING tomorrow...crazy butts.) Anyway, just wanted to share that bit of exciting news with you all!
Today ended my first week of Holiday Club with the precious children of Capricorn and I cannot wait to post more pictures and stories. I am in the process of uploading my pics and videos to Photobucket so that you who do not have facebook can see them!
Love each of you and Praying for you!
AC
Those of you who are well acquainted with my driving in AMERICA (stop laughing Carolina Salcedo and Alyson McHargue) will know that this is going to be quite the adventure for me. My new sweet friend Megan Newsome (go here to read her blog) and I decided that we didn't want to sit in the house all weekend when it is supposed to be such great weather, so we went in together to rent a car for the weekend! And we got the car for SUCH a great rate. I'm SO excited about all the stuff we will get to do without having to bum rides off of other volunteers (who happen to all be going SKYDIVING tomorrow...crazy butts.) Anyway, just wanted to share that bit of exciting news with you all!
Today ended my first week of Holiday Club with the precious children of Capricorn and I cannot wait to post more pictures and stories. I am in the process of uploading my pics and videos to Photobucket so that you who do not have facebook can see them!
Love each of you and Praying for you!
AC
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
TINA
This Is Not America. TINA. Haha. Just a little joke some of the Americans have going. Thought I would share.
Whew. The past 3 days have been CRAZY! This update is probably going to be long. Fair warning :)
Sunday, I got to go to Capricorn Community Church which, obviously, meets in the community of Capricorn where I am working. It was a WONDERFUL body of believers and I really hope that I am allowed to go back. Living Hope Volunteers are supposed to go to King of Kings Baptist every Sunday which is a fantastic church, but I am hoping to be able to go to Capricorn simply because it's so different than the States and it is, like I said, in the community I work in. I'll be sure to let you know what happens with that. I wrote down what I was thinking during the service just so I could remember the experience well. Let me tell you what I saw in this church.:
1) The people LOVE to sing loud. There were maybe 35-40 people there and I could probably hear every voice. They LOVED singing. They truly meant it too. You could tell.
2) They love to talk to their God. Prayer, I have noticed, is such a huge part of faith here. In every service I have been to we prayed 9-10 times, maybe more. It didn't have to be the time in the bulletin set aside for prayer. And they didn't pray in between two songs that are in different keys to allow the guitarist to move his capo. I'm not bashing these things. I am just saying, prayer is different here. It happens sporadically and often. And I love that they pray for a long time. Sometimes, everyone in the congregation prays out loud. What a powerful thing! I loved when the pastor laid hands on the offering AFTER it had been passed. Two small baskets full of whatever people could give and he blessed it. It was different. And I loved it.
It blessed my heart when the Capricorn pastor brought two of the long-term American volunteers up and asked for people to pray over them. Two men immediately shot up from their seats and you could see it in their faces, they could not wait to intercede on behalf of those two women. It was incredible and I truly felt the Spirit in that place. South Africans LOVE to pray.
After church, Kendra (my roommate here, former Belmont grad, fantastic singer/musician, and a Glee fanatic...yea we aren't much alike at all are we?), a sweet local named Lauren, and myself went to eat at a restaurant called Dixie's. Delicious food, wonderful conversation, and friendships formed. It was a FANTASTIC lunch to say the least. As soon as I got back to the house, I hopped right into another car to head downtown for two reasons. Reason numero uno? Starbucks. There is only ONE starbucks in the whole Cape Town area so some of the volunteers who have been here for quite a while and are also avid coffee drinkers were ecstatic when this starbucks opened up. So we went.
Reason numero dos for going downtown?...Hillsong Church. :) Yep. You read that right. There is a Hillsong plant here in Cape Town that one of the volunteers, Ronnie, goes to every week. So some of us decided to tag along. Joel Houston (songwriter and worship leader for Hillsong Sydney) is here for the week leading worship at a conference and we thought he would be leading, but he isn't until next Sunday. Oh well. I am going to keep my opinions and thoughts on Hillsong Church to myself and simply say that it was an experience. I am glad that I went, but probably will not again.
MONDAY! The first day of Holiday Club and my first day on sight with the children of Capricorn! What a wonderful week it has been. The children are precious and I just want to take them all home with me! Some were really shy at first, but it has been so great to watch them open up and begin to trust us. Others don't speak for other reasons, like language barrier. Some of the children can only speak Afrikaans and very little English, so that has been interesting. I work with the younger children ages 1-7 :) I absolutely LOVE my job. They love learning the songs and Bible stories. In fact, the children are much better than the teenagers about remembering what we learned that day from The Word. The volunteers rotate jobs every day. We all take turns doing games, teaching the memory verse, telling (sometimes acting out...haha) the Bible Stories, and teaching songs. At the end of the day, the children are fed a meal for free. For some of them, this might be the only time they eat all day. Living Hope finds a woman in each community to make the meals everyday and Living Hope provides them the funds to do so. Whatever is leftover (which is usually a lot) she gets to take back to her family. Like I said in an earlier entry, Living Hope is wonderful and pretty much thinks of EVERYTHING. Go to my facebook page to see the pictures I took this week of these precious kids. Hopefully some videos will be up soon as well!
Coloured's and Blacks during apartheid and even since then. This is the first time I have heard someone talk about it. I just learned so much. We talked about missions and what it looks like to go into communities that have so much need, not just for tangible things, but the Gospel; the rough communities, the dangerous communities. We talked about Memphis. Yea. They knew all about Memphis. That hit me hard. We talked about the similarities between Memphis and Cape Town and there are a lot. "The harvest is plenty but the workers are few." Yes? But these are thoughts for another day.
Thank you all so much for your prayers and encouraging words on here and Facebook! Sorry this entry was so long.
Tonight is another big game for South Africa! Bafana Bafana!!!
Praying for YOU,
AC
Whew. The past 3 days have been CRAZY! This update is probably going to be long. Fair warning :)
Sunday, I got to go to Capricorn Community Church which, obviously, meets in the community of Capricorn where I am working. It was a WONDERFUL body of believers and I really hope that I am allowed to go back. Living Hope Volunteers are supposed to go to King of Kings Baptist every Sunday which is a fantastic church, but I am hoping to be able to go to Capricorn simply because it's so different than the States and it is, like I said, in the community I work in. I'll be sure to let you know what happens with that. I wrote down what I was thinking during the service just so I could remember the experience well. Let me tell you what I saw in this church.:
1) The people LOVE to sing loud. There were maybe 35-40 people there and I could probably hear every voice. They LOVED singing. They truly meant it too. You could tell.
2) They love to talk to their God. Prayer, I have noticed, is such a huge part of faith here. In every service I have been to we prayed 9-10 times, maybe more. It didn't have to be the time in the bulletin set aside for prayer. And they didn't pray in between two songs that are in different keys to allow the guitarist to move his capo. I'm not bashing these things. I am just saying, prayer is different here. It happens sporadically and often. And I love that they pray for a long time. Sometimes, everyone in the congregation prays out loud. What a powerful thing! I loved when the pastor laid hands on the offering AFTER it had been passed. Two small baskets full of whatever people could give and he blessed it. It was different. And I loved it.
It blessed my heart when the Capricorn pastor brought two of the long-term American volunteers up and asked for people to pray over them. Two men immediately shot up from their seats and you could see it in their faces, they could not wait to intercede on behalf of those two women. It was incredible and I truly felt the Spirit in that place. South Africans LOVE to pray.
After church, Kendra (my roommate here, former Belmont grad, fantastic singer/musician, and a Glee fanatic...yea we aren't much alike at all are we?), a sweet local named Lauren, and myself went to eat at a restaurant called Dixie's. Delicious food, wonderful conversation, and friendships formed. It was a FANTASTIC lunch to say the least. As soon as I got back to the house, I hopped right into another car to head downtown for two reasons. Reason numero uno? Starbucks. There is only ONE starbucks in the whole Cape Town area so some of the volunteers who have been here for quite a while and are also avid coffee drinkers were ecstatic when this starbucks opened up. So we went.
Reason numero dos for going downtown?...Hillsong Church. :) Yep. You read that right. There is a Hillsong plant here in Cape Town that one of the volunteers, Ronnie, goes to every week. So some of us decided to tag along. Joel Houston (songwriter and worship leader for Hillsong Sydney) is here for the week leading worship at a conference and we thought he would be leading, but he isn't until next Sunday. Oh well. I am going to keep my opinions and thoughts on Hillsong Church to myself and simply say that it was an experience. I am glad that I went, but probably will not again.
MONDAY! The first day of Holiday Club and my first day on sight with the children of Capricorn! What a wonderful week it has been. The children are precious and I just want to take them all home with me! Some were really shy at first, but it has been so great to watch them open up and begin to trust us. Others don't speak for other reasons, like language barrier. Some of the children can only speak Afrikaans and very little English, so that has been interesting. I work with the younger children ages 1-7 :) I absolutely LOVE my job. They love learning the songs and Bible stories. In fact, the children are much better than the teenagers about remembering what we learned that day from The Word. The volunteers rotate jobs every day. We all take turns doing games, teaching the memory verse, telling (sometimes acting out...haha) the Bible Stories, and teaching songs. At the end of the day, the children are fed a meal for free. For some of them, this might be the only time they eat all day. Living Hope finds a woman in each community to make the meals everyday and Living Hope provides them the funds to do so. Whatever is leftover (which is usually a lot) she gets to take back to her family. Like I said in an earlier entry, Living Hope is wonderful and pretty much thinks of EVERYTHING. Go to my facebook page to see the pictures I took this week of these precious kids. Hopefully some videos will be up soon as well!
Coloured's and Blacks during apartheid and even since then. This is the first time I have heard someone talk about it. I just learned so much. We talked about missions and what it looks like to go into communities that have so much need, not just for tangible things, but the Gospel; the rough communities, the dangerous communities. We talked about Memphis. Yea. They knew all about Memphis. That hit me hard. We talked about the similarities between Memphis and Cape Town and there are a lot. "The harvest is plenty but the workers are few." Yes? But these are thoughts for another day.
Thank you all so much for your prayers and encouraging words on here and Facebook! Sorry this entry was so long.
Tonight is another big game for South Africa! Bafana Bafana!!!
Praying for YOU,
AC
Saturday, June 12, 2010
BAFANA BAFANA!!
Hey all! Just a quick update from SA!
For those of you who don't know, the Soccer World Cup commenced yesterday here in South Africa and let's just say, things are CRAZY here! Locals are going nuts and are so excited about the World Cup. Some of us took the train into the city last night (slightly crazy idea) to watch the game on the big screen in an event sponsored by FIFA called FanFest. When Fan Fest was already packed, we hopped into the nearest bar playing the game on a large TV and squatted ourselves there for the remainder of the game. I must say, watching such an huge event take place in the country I was in was EPIC! I will never forget that experience. I thought it so appropriate that South Africa scored the very first goal in a World Cup 2010 game! The bar we were in went NUTS when SA scored that first goal. All of us volunteers were screaming and jumping as much as they were, and some of the local Living Hope vols came with us to the city so it was cool to be with them and share that moment with them. So, my very first full soccer game to watch was a South Africa World Cup 2010 game- WHILE I WAS IN SOUTH AFRICA! Just so y'all know, Anna-Catherine LOVES soccer now.
Let the record show, Vuvuzelas WILL be the death of me over the next 4 weeks. Created by a local (whom I've heard actually goes to my church here), Vuvuzelas are blow horns on steriods. And they are EVERYWHERE! They are super cheap so I think everyone here owns one. If you happened to catch the opening game (Mexico vs. South Africa) then I'm sure you heard them. All we could hear were the Vuvuzelas and the announcer. I pity the teams that have to play this year with those being blared by every fan in the stadium. People were driving through the streets beginning yesterday morning at around 5am blaring them from their cars and walking through the streets. They are all the rage. And they will kill me before it's over with. Although I did blow in one today and it was quite fun. Maybe it will be the old saying "If you can't beat 'em, join em!"
Tonight is the USA vs. England game! Our house is divided since we have to Brits here with us...tonight promises to be a very fun evening! Heading to Mike and Pam Tally's house to watch the game and eat pizza. Mike and Pam are from Nashville and are Vol. Coordinators here. Love them!
So until tomorrow, U-S-A! U-S-A!
AC
Bafana Bafana is the nickname for South Africa's team :)
For those of you who don't know, the Soccer World Cup commenced yesterday here in South Africa and let's just say, things are CRAZY here! Locals are going nuts and are so excited about the World Cup. Some of us took the train into the city last night (slightly crazy idea) to watch the game on the big screen in an event sponsored by FIFA called FanFest. When Fan Fest was already packed, we hopped into the nearest bar playing the game on a large TV and squatted ourselves there for the remainder of the game. I must say, watching such an huge event take place in the country I was in was EPIC! I will never forget that experience. I thought it so appropriate that South Africa scored the very first goal in a World Cup 2010 game! The bar we were in went NUTS when SA scored that first goal. All of us volunteers were screaming and jumping as much as they were, and some of the local Living Hope vols came with us to the city so it was cool to be with them and share that moment with them. So, my very first full soccer game to watch was a South Africa World Cup 2010 game- WHILE I WAS IN SOUTH AFRICA! Just so y'all know, Anna-Catherine LOVES soccer now.
Let the record show, Vuvuzelas WILL be the death of me over the next 4 weeks. Created by a local (whom I've heard actually goes to my church here), Vuvuzelas are blow horns on steriods. And they are EVERYWHERE! They are super cheap so I think everyone here owns one. If you happened to catch the opening game (Mexico vs. South Africa) then I'm sure you heard them. All we could hear were the Vuvuzelas and the announcer. I pity the teams that have to play this year with those being blared by every fan in the stadium. People were driving through the streets beginning yesterday morning at around 5am blaring them from their cars and walking through the streets. They are all the rage. And they will kill me before it's over with. Although I did blow in one today and it was quite fun. Maybe it will be the old saying "If you can't beat 'em, join em!"
Tonight is the USA vs. England game! Our house is divided since we have to Brits here with us...tonight promises to be a very fun evening! Heading to Mike and Pam Tally's house to watch the game and eat pizza. Mike and Pam are from Nashville and are Vol. Coordinators here. Love them!
So until tomorrow, U-S-A! U-S-A!
AC
Bafana Bafana is the nickname for South Africa's team :)
Thursday, June 10, 2010
One Week
Tonight at around 10pm Cape Town time will mark the end of my first week and beginning of my 2nd week here in South Africa. Today was quite eventful and informational in that I finally was able to have an orientation meeting with Avril Thomas, director of Living Right- one of the many branches of Living Hope. She went through the entire history and overview of ALL of Living Hope that she and her husband, John, started around 14 (?) or so years ago. I am honestly still processing. I heard so much of the heart of God in her talk. Living Hope does SO much. Let me say it again. Living Hope does SO much to spread the Gospel. Like I said, I am definitely still processing. My favorite part, after she had gone through EVERYTHING, she said that all of these ministries aside, the spreading of the Gospel and expansion of the Kingdom is their main goal. Praise the Lord. I wish that I could go into detail about everything that Living Hope does here in South Africa. Better yet, I wish you could hear Avril tell you about it herself! But in short, the overall ministry of Living Hope seeks to share the Gospel and works to empower the people that it serves, both young and old, in order to help them make better lives for their families and communities. Support groups, 22 bed health care center (can't call it a hospital anymore because not enough people die there! Praise God!), childrens' clubs, teen clubs, parenting classes, entrepreneur classes, finance classes, preschools, mobile health care ministry that does full health screenings, and SO much more. And what's more, they do this all in the name of Jesus. Also, I should add that they do this on SUCH a tight budget. God is truly growing this ministry and providing for it and opening doors for it in HUGE ways. I just had absolutely know idea that I would have the privilege to work with such an anointed ministry this summer. I am going to learn so much from these wonderful people; their faith astounds me.
In Luke 4:18-19, Jesus is speaking in the synagogue in the town where he was brought up when he quotes Isaiah 61:1-2,
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed to proclaim the years of the Lord's favor."
I'm so thankful that He came to do this for us. And now, we get to share that freedom with others!
Grace and Peace to you,
AC
In Luke 4:18-19, Jesus is speaking in the synagogue in the town where he was brought up when he quotes Isaiah 61:1-2,
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed to proclaim the years of the Lord's favor."
I'm so thankful that He came to do this for us. And now, we get to share that freedom with others!
Grace and Peace to you,
AC
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Anna
Today was a great day of preparing for Holiday Club within our individual teams! We cut, glued, colored, and all sorts of things today while preparing the crafts and games for the children. We went through the curriculum dividing up tasks as to who did what. Me? (Those of you at FBCOB will understand this). I get to be Bro. Keith for a few weeks and I am PUMPED! When the local volunteers and our LSE (Life Skills Educator- chief local volunteer) began talking about how they needed new games to play with the children, I said to myself, "I didn't go to all those years of Day Camp and VBS for nothin. I'll do it!" Haha Oh boy. What did I get myself into? And did I mention that I get a whistle? Heck yes! Needless to say, I'm racking my brain for all of those fun games we grew up playing and I can't wait to see the kid's faces as they are playing them. They are going to be so excited to learn new games.
There is a sad part to this story, however. I was going through a book of games that we had in the resource room at the Living Hope Center and I found myself needing to skip over a ton of games because of the words "Materials Needed." Living Hope's resources are scarce. This is a problem that I, my American self, just did not even assume existed. At VBS, if someone was out of something, one of the volunteers would hop in their suburban or minivan, drive to Wal-Mart or Michaels, and buy it. Simple as that. But it's just not like that here. Items like popsicle sticks and construction paper are rare commodities. It breaks my heart that such a wonderful ministry has to ration it's resources to the point that they must avoid certain activities due to a lack of supplies. I just never imagined.
The other part of this that I didn't forsee? When I was looking at games, there were certain ones that I said, "Oh, we could do that!" There was a game involving a couple of rolls of toilet paper. But upon thinking a bit further, I realized that this would be a big no-no in townships. These people would see toilet paper as something that should never ever be wasted. How ironic is it that we will use toilet paper for many things other than its intended purpose, and not think twice about it. And that's okay, I'm not doggin' that at all, it's just SO odd to me that even a silly game involving toilet paper is something to be avoided. Lots of things to think about here. Lots of issues to consider.
Please Pray for the community of Capricorn and the sweet children and teens that we will be working with over the next four weeks. I absolutely cannot WAIT to begin playing games and spending time with their beautiful faces. Sharing stories from God's Word is going to be so fun! One word. Skits. :) Twill be HILARIOUS!
Went to a bakery today. It was legit. And cheap.
I started over in Luke again today and read something interesting. I should also mention that everyone here calls me Anna. I kind of like it, and it's so much easier for people to remember, especially the locals. I started out using Anna-Catherine and they all just gave me the weirdest looks. So I decided Anna would be just fine for a few weeks. I promise this relates to the Scripture haha.
"There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eight-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem." Luke 2:36-38.
I got so excited when I read that. Having become used to being called Anna for almost a week now, I just really want to channel this woman. I never want to leave the temple (which would be the Holy Spirit in me). I want to tell all of the redemption that is found in Jesus! Wow. This woman was a prophetess. I am definitely not a prophetess. But she was relentless in her prayer and fasting. That's what I want. Ceaseless prayer. Ceaseless worship.
Praying for You and Striving to Serve Him,
Anna
There is a sad part to this story, however. I was going through a book of games that we had in the resource room at the Living Hope Center and I found myself needing to skip over a ton of games because of the words "Materials Needed." Living Hope's resources are scarce. This is a problem that I, my American self, just did not even assume existed. At VBS, if someone was out of something, one of the volunteers would hop in their suburban or minivan, drive to Wal-Mart or Michaels, and buy it. Simple as that. But it's just not like that here. Items like popsicle sticks and construction paper are rare commodities. It breaks my heart that such a wonderful ministry has to ration it's resources to the point that they must avoid certain activities due to a lack of supplies. I just never imagined.
The other part of this that I didn't forsee? When I was looking at games, there were certain ones that I said, "Oh, we could do that!" There was a game involving a couple of rolls of toilet paper. But upon thinking a bit further, I realized that this would be a big no-no in townships. These people would see toilet paper as something that should never ever be wasted. How ironic is it that we will use toilet paper for many things other than its intended purpose, and not think twice about it. And that's okay, I'm not doggin' that at all, it's just SO odd to me that even a silly game involving toilet paper is something to be avoided. Lots of things to think about here. Lots of issues to consider.
Please Pray for the community of Capricorn and the sweet children and teens that we will be working with over the next four weeks. I absolutely cannot WAIT to begin playing games and spending time with their beautiful faces. Sharing stories from God's Word is going to be so fun! One word. Skits. :) Twill be HILARIOUS!
Went to a bakery today. It was legit. And cheap.
I started over in Luke again today and read something interesting. I should also mention that everyone here calls me Anna. I kind of like it, and it's so much easier for people to remember, especially the locals. I started out using Anna-Catherine and they all just gave me the weirdest looks. So I decided Anna would be just fine for a few weeks. I promise this relates to the Scripture haha.
"There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eight-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem." Luke 2:36-38.
I got so excited when I read that. Having become used to being called Anna for almost a week now, I just really want to channel this woman. I never want to leave the temple (which would be the Holy Spirit in me). I want to tell all of the redemption that is found in Jesus! Wow. This woman was a prophetess. I am definitely not a prophetess. But she was relentless in her prayer and fasting. That's what I want. Ceaseless prayer. Ceaseless worship.
Praying for You and Striving to Serve Him,
Anna
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Day 5
Colossians 2:13-15 "When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
I don't know about you, but when I read that passage in my mind, I'm really shouting it and when I was done typing it, I wanted to add a billion exclamation points!!! Amen to that verse! Thank you so much, Lord, for nailing all of our junk and religious ramblings to the cross. I have been so thankful in the recent days that I don't have to go on a mission to trip to have salvation. I don't have to do xyz123 in order to gain it. There is nothing I can do to deserve it. My righteousness is as FILTHY rags before God, but when I'm covered by the blood of Jesus, by the Cross, I am free. I am clean. And I am seen by God as pure. Wow. And now that I have this freedom, I want everyone else to have it to! I want to love people and share God's love with people. Even if they are halfway around the world. I'm just thankful that because of this, I am not 'in better with God' haha. That statement made me laugh too! I've just been camping out in Colossians and Luke lately. It's been good. God is good.
We've been training for the past two days. Getting curriculum and crafts ready for the kids that will be coming to our Holiday club! It's been fun and I finally found out where I will be working! I am in a township called Capricorn and the team I am working with is amazing. I can't wait to meet the children and begin building relationships. Just found out that a community nearby the one I am working with does not have running water. They have pumps. Again, this is shocking simply because a 1st world community is so close by. I just do not understand. And I hope I never become numb to that kind of information. How do the 1st world and the 3rd world live so close together?....
Netball. Much like basketball you shoot to score a goal. Unlike basketball, you cannot dribble and only 2 of the seven players are allowed to shoot the ball. I learned this game yesterday. I have to coach it next week! HAHA! This should be interesting. According to some of the local male volunteers, Netball is for girls (basically they were saying it's a sissy sport). Well, I have a jammed finger to prove it is NOT! It was quite fun and I hope to get good at it while here. Oh, one other thing. The baskets have no backboard. Just a rim on a pole. Now someone try to tell me that's not intense. I'm a backboard kind of basketball player so nothin' but rim is going to be interesting!
I feel like there are a billion other things I could talk about, but they will have to wait because I am quite sleepy.
Praying for you,
AC
I don't know about you, but when I read that passage in my mind, I'm really shouting it and when I was done typing it, I wanted to add a billion exclamation points!!! Amen to that verse! Thank you so much, Lord, for nailing all of our junk and religious ramblings to the cross. I have been so thankful in the recent days that I don't have to go on a mission to trip to have salvation. I don't have to do xyz123 in order to gain it. There is nothing I can do to deserve it. My righteousness is as FILTHY rags before God, but when I'm covered by the blood of Jesus, by the Cross, I am free. I am clean. And I am seen by God as pure. Wow. And now that I have this freedom, I want everyone else to have it to! I want to love people and share God's love with people. Even if they are halfway around the world. I'm just thankful that because of this, I am not 'in better with God' haha. That statement made me laugh too! I've just been camping out in Colossians and Luke lately. It's been good. God is good.
We've been training for the past two days. Getting curriculum and crafts ready for the kids that will be coming to our Holiday club! It's been fun and I finally found out where I will be working! I am in a township called Capricorn and the team I am working with is amazing. I can't wait to meet the children and begin building relationships. Just found out that a community nearby the one I am working with does not have running water. They have pumps. Again, this is shocking simply because a 1st world community is so close by. I just do not understand. And I hope I never become numb to that kind of information. How do the 1st world and the 3rd world live so close together?....
Netball. Much like basketball you shoot to score a goal. Unlike basketball, you cannot dribble and only 2 of the seven players are allowed to shoot the ball. I learned this game yesterday. I have to coach it next week! HAHA! This should be interesting. According to some of the local male volunteers, Netball is for girls (basically they were saying it's a sissy sport). Well, I have a jammed finger to prove it is NOT! It was quite fun and I hope to get good at it while here. Oh, one other thing. The baskets have no backboard. Just a rim on a pole. Now someone try to tell me that's not intense. I'm a backboard kind of basketball player so nothin' but rim is going to be interesting!
I feel like there are a billion other things I could talk about, but they will have to wait because I am quite sleepy.
Praying for you,
AC
Monday, June 7, 2010
To Miss or Not to Miss...That is the Question
Let's just pretend that I posted this last night since that's when I wrote it. K thanks.
I know that I will only be here almost 7 weeks, but I reason that as being justifiably long enough to create this list. I started it before I even left OB. I reserve the right to add or remove from this list at any given moment. Enjoy!
MISSED
1. My parents. Duh.
2. My friends. Duh.
3. FBCOB College Group- shout out to you guys. Y'all laid hands on my family and I almost two weeks and prayed for us. Thank you. Your prayers have been tangibly felt in the past week! Love you guys! That goes for everyone else who has been lifting me and my family up in prayer. Thank you so much. We can feel it. I truly miss you all.
4. Free Donut Day at Krispy Kreme and Dunkin' Donuts. RIP 6-4-10
5. Being able to sing in the shower. TMI? I don't care. I love to sing. Deal. :)
6. It's the little things like the summer rain. The way it can appear out of nowhere. The way it smells afterward and the way the sun comes right back out or even stays out during the rain. I will miss that while gone. It is winter here and although the weather has been fantastic so far (light jacket weather!), it's still not summer. I will miss the warmth!
7. $0.63 Icees right down the road from my house. It's a problem.
8. Being able to sit at the piano and play whenever I want.
NOT MISSED
1. The Day in June that the newest Twilight movie is released and all the crazies come out....thank you, South Africa, for sparing me.
2. KLOVE. Haha. They repeat songs entirely too much and I don't have an ipod jack so I usually end up serenading myself in the car....it's quite funny actually.
3. My phone. I have grown to loathe my phone even more since coming to college. When I have it by me, it's a problem. When I don't have it by me, it's a problem. Samsung Magnet of mine, you will not be missed one BIT!
4. Mississippi Humidity. Lame.
I know that I will only be here almost 7 weeks, but I reason that as being justifiably long enough to create this list. I started it before I even left OB. I reserve the right to add or remove from this list at any given moment. Enjoy!
MISSED
1. My parents. Duh.
2. My friends. Duh.
3. FBCOB College Group- shout out to you guys. Y'all laid hands on my family and I almost two weeks and prayed for us. Thank you. Your prayers have been tangibly felt in the past week! Love you guys! That goes for everyone else who has been lifting me and my family up in prayer. Thank you so much. We can feel it. I truly miss you all.
4. Free Donut Day at Krispy Kreme and Dunkin' Donuts. RIP 6-4-10
5. Being able to sing in the shower. TMI? I don't care. I love to sing. Deal. :)
6. It's the little things like the summer rain. The way it can appear out of nowhere. The way it smells afterward and the way the sun comes right back out or even stays out during the rain. I will miss that while gone. It is winter here and although the weather has been fantastic so far (light jacket weather!), it's still not summer. I will miss the warmth!
7. $0.63 Icees right down the road from my house. It's a problem.
8. Being able to sit at the piano and play whenever I want.
NOT MISSED
1. The Day in June that the newest Twilight movie is released and all the crazies come out....thank you, South Africa, for sparing me.
2. KLOVE. Haha. They repeat songs entirely too much and I don't have an ipod jack so I usually end up serenading myself in the car....it's quite funny actually.
3. My phone. I have grown to loathe my phone even more since coming to college. When I have it by me, it's a problem. When I don't have it by me, it's a problem. Samsung Magnet of mine, you will not be missed one BIT!
4. Mississippi Humidity. Lame.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Day 2- Sightseeing
Yesterday was long and I barely remember much of it. Although I didn't feel too 'jet-lagged' my memory loss is proof that I was in quite a daze all day. I met all of the other volunteers at the house during breakfast. There were so many and I had been in South Africa less than 12 hours so I was quite overwhelmed, to say the least. I can be extremely shy when I first meet people and I definitely worked that yesterday. To be honest, sometimes I just wanted to crawl in hole haha. But everyone has been friendly and I am enjoying getting to know the people here. The morning started out at Living Hope Community Center just down the street from our house. We began the day with song, devotional, and prayer. I was so comforted by hearing and seeing the hearts of the people I was working with, even if I didn't know/couldn't remember their names yet. I was then taken by the volunteer coordinators to do some last-minute paper work and be 'orientated' about rules and regulations. Next, I joined the rest of the volunteers working on projects for the up-coming holiday clubs we will be doing with the children in the various townships. We worked all day and I met so many people along the way. I know I won't be able to remember names. It's so overwhelming. But everyone was so wonderful! I can't wait to continue to get to know all of the workers and staff at Living Hope! What a difference I can already see this ministry has made in the community!
Today, I woke up and was invited by some other volunteers to go to the market and do some sight-seeing! Some of them have rented a car and were so sweet to invite me along. We had an absolute blast and I took a ton of pictures. This town is breathtaking. I stood at the bottom of mountains and looked out onto the ocean. I saw 2 baboons on the side of the road! The car we rode in is an old VW Bug that is quite old...her name is Betty. It was quite an adventure everytime we tried to start her up. Not to mention the fact that everything is opposite here! It's quite an odd sensation to ride on the rode in the opposite direction than you are used to. AND all the cars over here are stick shift. Apparently America is one of the only places that uses automatic a lot. And because of that, I was told we are weird haha. Today was an adventure for sure. My computer is dumb and will not allow me to upload pictures to any website right now, but when I get that fixed I will post a link so that you can see photos from today! This area of the world is absolutely beautiful!
I want to share with you an excerpt from a book I began reading right as I was getting ready to head here. My mom pointed it out in Lifeway, and I am so glad that she did. It's right up my ally right now. It's called The Hole in Our Gospel by Richard Stearns, President of World Vision. It has pictures in the middle so, of course, this 7 year old opened right up to those pages :) To my surprise, I saw a familiar face. Pastor John Thomas. He is the pastor of King of Kings Baptist Church and founder of Living Hope! There was a caption underneath his picture that directed me to page 99. Here is what I read, and I want to share it with you.
"I recently traveled with my wife to Cape Town, South Africa, one of the most beautiful and breathtaking cities in the world. We went there to see World Vision projects and to visit Fish Hoek (King of Kings) Baptist Church to learn about their remarkable AIDS ministry. We also built in a couple of days to do some sightseeing-but found it difficult to enjoy it. Cape Town is one of those few places in the world where the worst imaginable poverty and the most opulent wealth live together, sometimes just fifty yards apart. In the shadows of luxury homes, high-rise hotels, wineries, and upscale shopping malls lie acre upon acre of run-down shantytowns reeling with hunger, poverty, crime, disease, and despair, and populated by hundreds of thousands of broken-down human beings. The "haves" live in gated communities with security cameras. The "have-nots" peer from their tin huts as Mercedes and BMWs from another world pass them by. For me it was a microcosm of the "chasm" President Carter had described (this is referencing an earlier statement). How can the rich and the middle class live like this, I wondered, forced to see the stark contrast between themselves and the desperately poor every single day?
They do exactly what you and I do: they ignore them. The only difference is that it is easier for us to ignore the world's poorest because they are over there."
I am here now. I wanted to post that excerpt a week ago, but I am glad, now, that I didn't. Because today, I saw it. I saw it with my own eyes. I drove past the township that I will most likely be working in; it's shacks of tin, metal, wood......scraps. What else did I see? (I only had a glimpse of the FRONT of this community, mind you) I saw piles of trash. "NO WAY! Are they digging in the trash?" The other volunteers in the car replied, "Yea. That's what they're doing." Let me explain further. Allow to elaborate as to WHY I was so shocked to see them digging in the trash. It's not like this township is on the outskirts of the city our out in the boonies somewhere. No. This community of poverty and scraps is RIGHT in the middle of the town I am in, less that 2 blocks from the MALL, and only a few more streets over to my HOUSE that is located in a very nice neighborhood. I was astonished. I was told the name of this township the day before and that I might possibly be working there, but I had NO idea that it was located that close to town. Richard Stearns's words became real to me today. This place is like nothing I've ever seen before.
What is even worse, is that I ignore poverty of great proportions in Nashville. In Memphis. In Olive Branch. I live live my life. And I live it as if I don't care about those that have no food. That live in houses that are falling apart. That have no houses at all. I ignore them. Which means I ignore Jesus.
In this same book, Richard Stearns talks about a project that some seminary students took on. They found EVERY verse in the Bible that dealt with poverty, wealth, justice, and oppression. Then one of them took a pair of scissors and physically cut out all of those verses. What he was left with was a Bible that was full of holes and that barely held together. Nearly 2,000 verses that deal with poverty and justice. Can we ignore it? Can I ignore it? If we took out all of those verses, the ones we are left with are probably the ones we read the most, if we're being honest. Being uncomfortable is something we avoid at all costs in America. Right? The American Dream. Success. Happiness. I have to have the best, be the best, look the best. And we apply that to the Gospel. Me. Me. Me. We sit in our pews and check off our christian to-do lists and that's enough. Many of us will do anything ministry related at church and we'll go to all of the church things, but if God asked us to give something up, heck no. That's where we draw the line. I used to believe in a Gospel that had a TON of holes in it. But let me tell you, as I have begun to let God fill those holes in, my soul has become more complete. There was so much of the Jesus' Gospel that I was leaving out because it was hard. Because it asked me to give things up, give things away. As I have begun to give, I have received double that in return. Not materialistically. No. I am filled up with Joy that the God of our Salvation has overcome this world! And I must tell people about it.
The more I allow myself to be uncomfortable for the sake of the Gospel, the more I see in this world. I see the world a little bit more like the way that God sees it. Broken, hurt, in need. And I see much less of myself. WHAT A BLESSING! My life, my wants, my needs, my future, my school, my ups, my downs, my good days, my bad days, what I have, what I don't have...IT DOESN'T MATTER! There is a HUGE world out there that needs the Love and Hope and saving BLOOD of Jesus. Who am I to think that this little college student has more important things going on in her life than to help those who have NOTHING and KNOW NOTHING about the ONLY One who can Save them and give them Hope and Love!? The ONLY one who can give them hope as they and their children are slowly dying of AIDS. The ONLY one who can comfort them in the night as their bellies ache with starvation. The only one who can give them Peace as they take care of their brothers and sisters when they themselves are only a child. We care for these people. But we don't ACT as if we care. Jesus showed us, through his life, many many things. He showed us the way to introduce a God who wants to be reconciled to His sinful children- by physically meeting their needs. It's there. Read any of the 4 Gospels and you can see, too, that we cannot ignore that fact that to spread the Gospel, we MUST get our hands dirty. We must touch the sick in order to heal them. We must go into the homes of the sinners and outcasts (yes, risking our 'good christian girl/guy' reputation) in order to build a trusting friendship with them that they may tangibly begin to understand the love, grace, and forgiveness of Jesus. We must be the hands and feet....let me say it again. We must be the hands and feet of the Spirit of Jesus. There is action involved in following Him.
Please don't mistake me. I am not saying that we must serve the poor and take care of the 'least of these' in order to earn salvation or be 'more saved' than those who do not. Haha that statement just actually made me laugh out loud. What I am saying is this. Knowing Jesus changed me. The Spirit of Jesus is now in me. Therefore, I now care about the things He cares about and I HAVE to do something about it. And I am thankful that this life is not about me.
From South Africa, with love,
AC
Deuteronomy 5:11
There will always be poor people in your land. Therefore I COMMAND you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and the needy in your land.
Luke 14: 12-14
The Jesus said to his host, "When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers, or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be bless. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.
ps- tried to get a local cell phone today at the mall, but their internet service was down or something...welcome to Africa! :) I love it!
Today, I woke up and was invited by some other volunteers to go to the market and do some sight-seeing! Some of them have rented a car and were so sweet to invite me along. We had an absolute blast and I took a ton of pictures. This town is breathtaking. I stood at the bottom of mountains and looked out onto the ocean. I saw 2 baboons on the side of the road! The car we rode in is an old VW Bug that is quite old...her name is Betty. It was quite an adventure everytime we tried to start her up. Not to mention the fact that everything is opposite here! It's quite an odd sensation to ride on the rode in the opposite direction than you are used to. AND all the cars over here are stick shift. Apparently America is one of the only places that uses automatic a lot. And because of that, I was told we are weird haha. Today was an adventure for sure. My computer is dumb and will not allow me to upload pictures to any website right now, but when I get that fixed I will post a link so that you can see photos from today! This area of the world is absolutely beautiful!
I want to share with you an excerpt from a book I began reading right as I was getting ready to head here. My mom pointed it out in Lifeway, and I am so glad that she did. It's right up my ally right now. It's called The Hole in Our Gospel by Richard Stearns, President of World Vision. It has pictures in the middle so, of course, this 7 year old opened right up to those pages :) To my surprise, I saw a familiar face. Pastor John Thomas. He is the pastor of King of Kings Baptist Church and founder of Living Hope! There was a caption underneath his picture that directed me to page 99. Here is what I read, and I want to share it with you.
"I recently traveled with my wife to Cape Town, South Africa, one of the most beautiful and breathtaking cities in the world. We went there to see World Vision projects and to visit Fish Hoek (King of Kings) Baptist Church to learn about their remarkable AIDS ministry. We also built in a couple of days to do some sightseeing-but found it difficult to enjoy it. Cape Town is one of those few places in the world where the worst imaginable poverty and the most opulent wealth live together, sometimes just fifty yards apart. In the shadows of luxury homes, high-rise hotels, wineries, and upscale shopping malls lie acre upon acre of run-down shantytowns reeling with hunger, poverty, crime, disease, and despair, and populated by hundreds of thousands of broken-down human beings. The "haves" live in gated communities with security cameras. The "have-nots" peer from their tin huts as Mercedes and BMWs from another world pass them by. For me it was a microcosm of the "chasm" President Carter had described (this is referencing an earlier statement). How can the rich and the middle class live like this, I wondered, forced to see the stark contrast between themselves and the desperately poor every single day?
They do exactly what you and I do: they ignore them. The only difference is that it is easier for us to ignore the world's poorest because they are over there."
I am here now. I wanted to post that excerpt a week ago, but I am glad, now, that I didn't. Because today, I saw it. I saw it with my own eyes. I drove past the township that I will most likely be working in; it's shacks of tin, metal, wood......scraps. What else did I see? (I only had a glimpse of the FRONT of this community, mind you) I saw piles of trash. "NO WAY! Are they digging in the trash?" The other volunteers in the car replied, "Yea. That's what they're doing." Let me explain further. Allow to elaborate as to WHY I was so shocked to see them digging in the trash. It's not like this township is on the outskirts of the city our out in the boonies somewhere. No. This community of poverty and scraps is RIGHT in the middle of the town I am in, less that 2 blocks from the MALL, and only a few more streets over to my HOUSE that is located in a very nice neighborhood. I was astonished. I was told the name of this township the day before and that I might possibly be working there, but I had NO idea that it was located that close to town. Richard Stearns's words became real to me today. This place is like nothing I've ever seen before.
What is even worse, is that I ignore poverty of great proportions in Nashville. In Memphis. In Olive Branch. I live live my life. And I live it as if I don't care about those that have no food. That live in houses that are falling apart. That have no houses at all. I ignore them. Which means I ignore Jesus.
In this same book, Richard Stearns talks about a project that some seminary students took on. They found EVERY verse in the Bible that dealt with poverty, wealth, justice, and oppression. Then one of them took a pair of scissors and physically cut out all of those verses. What he was left with was a Bible that was full of holes and that barely held together. Nearly 2,000 verses that deal with poverty and justice. Can we ignore it? Can I ignore it? If we took out all of those verses, the ones we are left with are probably the ones we read the most, if we're being honest. Being uncomfortable is something we avoid at all costs in America. Right? The American Dream. Success. Happiness. I have to have the best, be the best, look the best. And we apply that to the Gospel. Me. Me. Me. We sit in our pews and check off our christian to-do lists and that's enough. Many of us will do anything ministry related at church and we'll go to all of the church things, but if God asked us to give something up, heck no. That's where we draw the line. I used to believe in a Gospel that had a TON of holes in it. But let me tell you, as I have begun to let God fill those holes in, my soul has become more complete. There was so much of the Jesus' Gospel that I was leaving out because it was hard. Because it asked me to give things up, give things away. As I have begun to give, I have received double that in return. Not materialistically. No. I am filled up with Joy that the God of our Salvation has overcome this world! And I must tell people about it.
The more I allow myself to be uncomfortable for the sake of the Gospel, the more I see in this world. I see the world a little bit more like the way that God sees it. Broken, hurt, in need. And I see much less of myself. WHAT A BLESSING! My life, my wants, my needs, my future, my school, my ups, my downs, my good days, my bad days, what I have, what I don't have...IT DOESN'T MATTER! There is a HUGE world out there that needs the Love and Hope and saving BLOOD of Jesus. Who am I to think that this little college student has more important things going on in her life than to help those who have NOTHING and KNOW NOTHING about the ONLY One who can Save them and give them Hope and Love!? The ONLY one who can give them hope as they and their children are slowly dying of AIDS. The ONLY one who can comfort them in the night as their bellies ache with starvation. The only one who can give them Peace as they take care of their brothers and sisters when they themselves are only a child. We care for these people. But we don't ACT as if we care. Jesus showed us, through his life, many many things. He showed us the way to introduce a God who wants to be reconciled to His sinful children- by physically meeting their needs. It's there. Read any of the 4 Gospels and you can see, too, that we cannot ignore that fact that to spread the Gospel, we MUST get our hands dirty. We must touch the sick in order to heal them. We must go into the homes of the sinners and outcasts (yes, risking our 'good christian girl/guy' reputation) in order to build a trusting friendship with them that they may tangibly begin to understand the love, grace, and forgiveness of Jesus. We must be the hands and feet....let me say it again. We must be the hands and feet of the Spirit of Jesus. There is action involved in following Him.
Please don't mistake me. I am not saying that we must serve the poor and take care of the 'least of these' in order to earn salvation or be 'more saved' than those who do not. Haha that statement just actually made me laugh out loud. What I am saying is this. Knowing Jesus changed me. The Spirit of Jesus is now in me. Therefore, I now care about the things He cares about and I HAVE to do something about it. And I am thankful that this life is not about me.
From South Africa, with love,
AC
Deuteronomy 5:11
There will always be poor people in your land. Therefore I COMMAND you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and the needy in your land.
Luke 14: 12-14
The Jesus said to his host, "When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers, or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be bless. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.
ps- tried to get a local cell phone today at the mall, but their internet service was down or something...welcome to Africa! :) I love it!
Friday, June 4, 2010
Day 1
I’ve typed 10 sentences, and deleted them all since none of them could properly sum up my first 18 hours in South Africa. I have resigned to rambling. You’ll just have to keep up with this jet-lagged A-D-D American with a lot to say and no words to say it. Good luck.
The flight.
All three of them. Memphis to ATL was okay. Only an hour. ATL to Amersterdam on the other hand was excruciatingly long and painful. I’ve never had trouble on planes before, but on this one, I was sick all 7 and ½ hours. It was not fun to say the least, but I will tell you. It didn’t take long for me to be reminded of several things. 1) Satan is good at the game He plays. 2) God ALLOWS Satan to play these games. 3) Just like Job, maybe my sickness was to bring glory to God in the end somehow, and God’s glory is our ultimate goal as Followers of Christ. And 4) People have endured much worse things than motion sickness in order to share the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ. 8 hours of it was nothing in comparison to so much that so many face. This, however, does not make me any less thankful for the landing of that plane. I had to get off. The next half of this story is far better than the first. I boarded the plane to Cape Town about 20 minutes after stepping off the last, very nervous about the 11 hour flight I was facing, b/c I was still feeling sick after the last one. I found that my seat was next to the window and sharing a row with a married couple. We began small talk and I recognized their accent as South African. They had been in the States to visit their son, his wife, and grandchildren. They asked what I was doing in Cape Town and I felt comfortable enough to tell them the name of the organization I would be working with and what I was doing with it. They seemed intrigued and proceeded to tell me about how he is a minister at a church about 300 miles from Cape Town as well as other ministries that he volunteers with! It was such a blessing! They had the sweetest spirits. Within an hour of our flight, after beginning to read because they started speaking to each other in Afrikaans, I was handed a piece of paper with both of their names and all of their contact info inviting me to come visit them while I am here. I was overjoyed. I will not be able to visit them, however, their kindness and love for the Lord will not be forgotten. We spent the entire flight buzzing in and out of conversation, mostly about God and the church; where it is today, and where it should be. They gave me some Afrikaans words to memorize (I, of course have forgotten all of them). Afrikaans is one of the native languages to South Africa, derived from Dutch. Halfway through the flight it dawned on me that I was not feeling sick, and had not felt sick since boarding the plane. God used those sweet people to comfort me, and they didn’t even have to try. I made sure to tell them what a blessing they were as the plane descended into Cape Town, and thanked them for being so kind to me. Rev. Jasper (the man’s name) leaned in a little bit to us and said, “Well, God is the great architect, is he not?” Yes, Rev. Jasper. Our God truly is the great architect. I didn’t deserve or need comfort in that time. But God saw the desire of my heart, for one last piece of confirmation that I was where I needed to be, and who knew that I would find it in the sweet wise couple next to me.
I will not forget something that Rev. Jasper said as we were discussing the Church. We were talking of the way that so many people in the church focus entirely too much on unimportant things and that their (our- I am always having to check myself on this issue) faith is in church and not God. Seeing the Saving Gospel of Jesus spread to those who have not heard and others who need to hear it, and caring for the poor and the ‘least of these’ are not the top-priority of many Christians, if you know what I mean. It's uncomfortable, it's hard, and it doesn't fit in with the American Dream. Bottom line. On this, Rev. Jasper had this to say, and it really struck me so I thought I would share. He said, “It is the difference between an organization and an organism.” An organism is a living breathing thing. It has life! It is active! It reproduces! Isn’t that such a wonderful way of thinking about it?... I am not going to add any more to that. I am just going to let you chew on it, and let God fill you up with His wisdom on the topic. Are you a part of an organism or an organization? Are YOU an organism or have you resigned yourself to a lifeless faith that is nothing but christian "to-do" lists?
Food for thought? I hope so.
More stories from this rambler to come soon!
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Wanna see something funny?
This film is a documentary of myself attempting to learn the game of soccer. Don't laugh TOO hard.
The video was made and edited by the incredibly modest Carolina Salcedo. She also happens to be violent and dangerous- keep away from children.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
What can happen in 5 minutes?
Next Five Minutes from David Platt on Vimeo.
I've seen this video posted on numerous blogs and facebook statuses just in the past day so I thought I would share. David Platt is the pastor of Brook Hills Church in Birgmingham, AL and author of the newly released book "Radical". My small group at Green Hills Church has been listening to the podcasts from David's "Radical" sermon series and I, for one, have had my world turned upside down by the words of Jesus. This video is just a small taste of what God has opened my eyes to in this world. Please watch. You will not be the same.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Africa on my mind
2 weeks from now, I will be on my way to Cape Town. I can’t begin to describe how surreal it was to type that sentence. After watching the movie Invictus yesterday, I simply cannot believe that it is possible for me to be more excited and anxious.
Since my last entry, I’ve bought my plane tickets, been immunized for polio, typhoid, and hepatitis A, sent out letters, and finished up my sophomore year in college. Wow. What a loaded statement. Just two summers ago, I was anxious to begin my life in Nashville at Belmont. Now, I’m halfway through it. This is SO hard to believe!
I’ve had Africa on the brain constantly since school let out a week ago. Now that I have so much down time, I have found myself more eager than ever to get there. The Lord has been challenging me left and right, and teaching me more and more about what it means to die to myself. What have I learned? It starts in your home. If I can’t die to myself and live selflessly for my own family, how can I expect to do it for people that I do not even know? This has not been the easiest lesson to learn, and I am constantly reminded of how much work I have left to do, but our God is gracious, patient, and loving. I’m so unworthy but so thankful for His gentle correction and the wonderful parents he has blessed me with that lovingly wait on me to learn these tough lessons, and work with me through them.
In other news, I’ve received $3,100 towards my trip so far! God is so good and I am BEYOND thankful for those of you who were so quick to answer the call to be a part of the Lord’s work in Cape Town! You all have given so generously and I am so thankful. I absolutely cannot wait to get there, take pictures, and share stories of His work with you all!
So, I have roughly $1500 to go in my fundraising, but I have no doubt that God will provide! I cannot even begin to explain the Peace that has inhabited my heart from Day 1 of this adventure. Not once have I felt as though HE wasn’t a part of it or the main reason for it. I love that I feel so small in all of this. This trip has absolutely nothing to do with me, and I LOVE THAT!
On a less serious note, the whole packing thing is STRESSING ME OUT! I’ve been looking up the luggage requirements for the airline I will be flying with. Jeez Louise! These people have way to many rules for me. This whole “flying by myself” thing is going to be quite the adventure. No worries. You will hear all the stories and details of my little voyage across the world. :) My hope is that during my layovers, I will be able to blog/capture some video that will make you all feel as though you are right there with me! Because I’m sure that is what you all want, right? To be on two 11 hour flights across the globe? Of course it is.
Well, I bid you all a fond fare-well until my next update which will hopefully be sooner than the last! Thanks again for your prayers and support!
To God be all of the Glory,
AC
Since my last entry, I’ve bought my plane tickets, been immunized for polio, typhoid, and hepatitis A, sent out letters, and finished up my sophomore year in college. Wow. What a loaded statement. Just two summers ago, I was anxious to begin my life in Nashville at Belmont. Now, I’m halfway through it. This is SO hard to believe!
I’ve had Africa on the brain constantly since school let out a week ago. Now that I have so much down time, I have found myself more eager than ever to get there. The Lord has been challenging me left and right, and teaching me more and more about what it means to die to myself. What have I learned? It starts in your home. If I can’t die to myself and live selflessly for my own family, how can I expect to do it for people that I do not even know? This has not been the easiest lesson to learn, and I am constantly reminded of how much work I have left to do, but our God is gracious, patient, and loving. I’m so unworthy but so thankful for His gentle correction and the wonderful parents he has blessed me with that lovingly wait on me to learn these tough lessons, and work with me through them.
In other news, I’ve received $3,100 towards my trip so far! God is so good and I am BEYOND thankful for those of you who were so quick to answer the call to be a part of the Lord’s work in Cape Town! You all have given so generously and I am so thankful. I absolutely cannot wait to get there, take pictures, and share stories of His work with you all!
So, I have roughly $1500 to go in my fundraising, but I have no doubt that God will provide! I cannot even begin to explain the Peace that has inhabited my heart from Day 1 of this adventure. Not once have I felt as though HE wasn’t a part of it or the main reason for it. I love that I feel so small in all of this. This trip has absolutely nothing to do with me, and I LOVE THAT!
On a less serious note, the whole packing thing is STRESSING ME OUT! I’ve been looking up the luggage requirements for the airline I will be flying with. Jeez Louise! These people have way to many rules for me. This whole “flying by myself” thing is going to be quite the adventure. No worries. You will hear all the stories and details of my little voyage across the world. :) My hope is that during my layovers, I will be able to blog/capture some video that will make you all feel as though you are right there with me! Because I’m sure that is what you all want, right? To be on two 11 hour flights across the globe? Of course it is.
Well, I bid you all a fond fare-well until my next update which will hopefully be sooner than the last! Thanks again for your prayers and support!
To God be all of the Glory,
AC
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
All Roads Lead to....South Africa?
Well, at least in my case they do! I am so excited to announce that I will be journeying to Cape Town, South Africa for 6 weeks in June and July to serve with a wonderful organization called Living Hope! I am overjoyed. There truly are no words to describe how I am feeling. I’ve known for several weeks now, but watching this begin to play out is overwhelming, in a good way of course.
Some of you that have known me for years (or only a few months) probably know about my heart for Africa and my longing to go there. Ask anyone close to me and they will tell you…I cry about very little. I’m just not a crier. But one look at a photo of a beautiful African child, a song, a video, you name it; if it has to do with Africa, you can expect waterworks from me. And that may just be one of the things that God used to get my attention; the fact that He has broken my heart for this place to the point that it brings me to tears. AND alas, it worked. Because I am GOING TO SOUTH AFRICA!!!!!!!!!! I still can’t believe it.
Having come to the realization over a year ago that it was time for me to experience life outside of the U.S., I began praying and knocking on doors for opportunities to serve overseas. The Lord has been using this waiting period for so much growth and preparation. Am I ready to serve in another part of the world, where life looks so different, and there is so much work to be done? No. But do I cling to the fact that God has called me to Cape Town with the purpose of bringing Glory to Him, sharing His story of Hope, Love, and Grace in a real and tangible way? Absolutely. Positively. Yes.
With all of that said, maybe you would like to know a little of what I will be doing while I am in Cape Town! Living Hope is an organization in Cape Town that among many other things primarily works with HIV/AID care and prevention; this, of course, being carried out in many different ways. You can go to www.livinghope.co.za to read more about their work in South Africa. Living Hope Volunteers are housed and cared for through another organization called ACTS. I met a few of these guys while they were in the States a couple of weeks for some conferences. They are wonderful wonderful people, and I am so excited to be working with them. You can go to www.actsoverland.com to read more about their work in Africa.
What will I be doing, you ask? You see, there is little tiny event. I’m sure none of you have heard of it or know about it (honestly, I didn’t). It’s called the Soccer World Cup? You heard of it? Yea. I didn’t think so. Well, it’s going to be held, among other places, in CAPE TOWN this summer! This long awaited, much anticipated event has been in the works for years now, and South Africa is PUMPED. So much so, that they are canceling school for about 5 weeks! That’s where we come in. Living Hope and ACTS have put together a special program especially for the weeks surrounding the World Cup specifically designed to give kids something to do while being loved on with the love of Jesus and hearing the Gospel. The program consists of some teen clubs that will focus on sports and games. I get to play sports with awesome kids and share the Love of Jesus with them. Are you kidding me? This is going to be the best summer ever.
I hope that even after this novel, you will still keep up with my journey to and from South Africa J. I am going to ask you to prayerfully consider how you can be a part of the Work that God is doing in Cape Town. First and foremost I would like to ask for your prayers during this endeavor; for both myself and the people that I will be serving. Pray that the Lord would prepare me physically, spiritually, and emotionally to meet needs in Cape Town and have boldness to share The Gospel. Pray for my parents, that the Lord would bless them for allowing me to go, and that His Peace would shower them while I am gone. Last, I ask that you pray about giving financially to this trip. In order for me to go, I must raise $.4,500. I know that God will provide, it’s just a matter of who he will use to do it. If you feel led in this direction, all donations can be sent to
8015 Huckleberry Dr.
Olive Branch, MS 38654.
I am so excited that you are going to be joining me along this journey! I will be updating this blog fairly often from here on out, so check back frequently!
Serving Him,
AC McB
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