Breathtaking is one way that I could describe the surroundings that make up Cape Town, South Africa. I am captured and in awe of how creative our creator really is – I am kind of in love with it. It is weird yet completely awesome to see little penguins waddling around nearby and be able to watch seals in their true element.   When God created me…He created me to be aesthetically wired. I tend to like to experience God in one of the rawest forms – nature.   Through having a heart for the mountains and breathing in/feeling the fresh air all around me – He is everywhere. Or one of my favorites is so look up into the sky and get completely lost in the stars.  I just feel at home when I am completely surrounded by the simplicity of God’s creation. 

The first week I got to South Africa was ‘debrief ‘ before all of the teams headed out to their ministry sites.  Which means…there was lots of rest and processing the previous months in Thailand.

Debrief was not the easiest for me…a lot of things hit me hard. The thought plagued me that I still had 3 and a half months left on the field.  A feeling of despair and hopelessness came over me. I believe Satan has really been attacking me hard as of late. BUT I have Jesus and that is all I truly need…He died for me so I should be willing to follow Him at all costs. We must carry in His suffering in order to share in His glory.I am still really dealing with a lot of this and need a lot of prayers! - Prayer for strength and a refreshing sense of God’s Will for me.  Also, prayer to be renewed & sustained emotionally, physically, and spiritually.

I found the verse below during debrief and knew that I wanted it to be the ‘theme’ for me personally during this last leg of this specific journey. I believe that God put this verse in front of my eyes for a reason!

2  C h r o n i c l e s  3 1  :  2 1

I n   e v e r y t h i n g   t h a t   h e   u n d e r t o o k   i n   t h e   s e r v i c e   o f   G o d ’ s   t e m p l e   a n d   i n   o b e d i e n c e   t o   t h e   l a w   a n d   t h e   c o m m a n d s ,   h e   s o u g h t   h i s   G o d   a n d   w o r k e d   w h o l e h e a r t e d l y .    A n d   s o   h e   p r o s p e re d .

I have arrived safely at my ministry home! We have a host family that lives across the street…Auntie Claudine & Uncle Neil (Culturally it is disrespectful to not add Auntie or Uncle in front of a persons name that is older in age). Auntie Claudine cooks a homemade dinner for us every evening…it is a taste of what is to come in a few months.  We could not be more blessed! 

Our actual ministry is at Fellowship Bible Church Christian School, which specifically caters to Fetal Alcohol Syndrome affected kids. The school focuses on serving squatter camps in the surrounding farm communities. They are really concentrated on seeking the needs of the sexually/drug abused…many of them are raped on a consistent basis.  The majority of the kids innocence has been taken at a very young age. 

Naturally, I assumed that I would be teaching. God has shown me different. I will be serving and loving on the kitchen ladies for the next 3 months. It is an area that naturally gets overlooked but God is sending me to show His daughters differently. I am not 100% sure what my day to day schedule will look like but I know I will be helping the women with whatever they need and I will be cooking for my teammates and providing their lunch each day. So lots of grocery shopping and more logistical things will be coming my way!

Acts 20:24

“However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me – the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.”

THANK YOU FOR YOU LOVE AND PRAYERS.

Best,

A n d r e a