The Wrap-Up

Well today is my last full day in Jo-burg. These past two weeks have gone by so fast and it is and isn’t exciting to go back. I’m pumped to tell everyone what happened while I was here and how many seeds were planted. Part of me also wants to keep investing the people lives in the Soweto area.

This past week we have been going to other villages around the Soweto area doing soccer clinics, VBS’s, evangelism on the streets, and simply just loving on the kids. This week has also been challenging because the weather has been very cold. On Tuesday the high was around 45 but with the wind it felt like it was in the 30′s. Kids came out with shorts, long-sleeved shirts and torn up shoes. The little ones could not stay warm even with us holding them, trying to get them warm. So we had to called it a day after an hour of playing with them so they could go back to their homes and stay out of the wind. I was kind of down that day because it just felt like it was a waste almost. I prayed a ton for better weather the next day and God gave it to us. It was still cold but it was bearable. We saw a lot of kids come out and I was able to engage in a convo with a kid. Language was definitely a barrier but hopefully the Holy Spirit will work in his heart. The next day was even better weather and we saw around 200-250 kids come out. It was nuts! I also got to engage in a spiritual convo with a man at a gas station after helping him push his car to the pump. I invited him to one of the churches that have been planted around that area and he seemed enthused to go to it this Sunday.

On Friday, we played soccer in downtown Jo-burg next to Ellis Park where the US-Slovenia game was. I’ll talk about that later. There were surprisingly not a lot of kids there but I was still able to talk with a guy who was 22 years old. I asked him about his beliefs and told him my testimony. He didn’t seem too interested but I told him about the church  that we were working with so hopefully he will be there on Sunday. We had a blast playing on a concrete slab similar to what we did in Nicaragua my Junior year of HS.

What a great week that the Lord gave us in Jo-burg! Like I said before, I felt like God was going to do some crazy stuff and we saw salvations, people’s interest in church, and the Word shared to the kids. This has been a great two weeks learning about a new culture as well. I have fallen in love with it and the people. I was asked if I have liked my time here in Jo-burg more or my time in Nicaragua and it is honestly not fair to answer that because both are beautiful countries and the people are very genuine, they are just different.

Ok so most of you are wanting to hear about the World Cup game as well. It was incredible! We went in the stadium after passing out newspapers that tells Kaka’s, Lucio’s, and others testimonies. Cool stuff. We went in around 3 (an hour before the game). My seats were awesome! Off of the television I was on the far side line up with the goaline on the right. I got all the action with all the goals. It should have been 5 total goals that I saw, but the ref is stupid! I got covered in beer from all the people around me going nuts but I didn’t even care. It was CRAZY!!! Great atmosphere. Someone next to me almost got in a fight (dumb story of old people who act like they’re still 10). But it was such a great experience and I got some great photos.

I can’t wait to see you all again and thanks for following my blog while I’ve been here. Ask me about stories when I get home and I would love to tell them to you. South Africa is a beautiful country!

Days 3-6

Sorry I haven’t been able to blog the past few days. We started the soccer clinics on thursday and finished on saturday and every night I was just exhausted.

The soccer clinics and vbs’s went great in Dobsonville! Many kids of many ages came out to hang with us Americans and to play soccer. We developed some great relationships with some of the people there. A few of the kids came to church this morning as was the goal. On Friday, we set up a screen and projector in the city hall of Dobsonville and showed the SA-Mexico game. It was nuts! When they scored I literally thought they were going to break the projector and tear the screen up because they were running, screaming, jumping. The vuvuzellas(sp?) were blowing so loud! It was an incredible atmosphere! Thanks for all the prayers.

This morning we had church in Dobsonville at a primary school, which would be like an elementary school. It looked very similar to the schools that I’ve seen in Nicaragua or Mexico. This was the first church service that they have attempted in Dobsonville and we saw around 20 people join us for worship and a time where the gospel was shared. Two guys around my age came and were very interested. Zach is having a Bible study with them tomorrow which is awesome! Most of the older guys here have no interest at all in spiritual convos, so in my opinion this is the Holy Spirit working in them. Please pray for them because they could be the key to get this church started.

Tomorrow is a break in between the soccer clinics. We are doing clinics on Tuesday and Wednesday for sure this week and could possibly end up doing ones on Thursday and Friday in another town. This is another town that they are wanting their church to grow, so this is a great opportunity to build some more relationships with the people. Tomorrow I am going on a safari and then eating at a restaurant called Carnivores where I’ll be able to eat giraffe, zebra, and other crazy stuff. It’s supposed to be an expensive place, but it’s a once in a lifetime deal. We leave at 3:30 in the morning… blah.

I’m looking forward to this week. I’m feeling rejuvenated after a long week. I am ready to see what the Lord is going to do this week. I just have a strong, strong feeling that God is going to do some crazy stuff this week. I’ve been praying a lot yesterday and today for this next week that lives would be changed in SA. I truly believe he’s about to kick butt and take names in SA this week. Please keep praying with me! You guys are awesome and thanks for the responses! It’s really encouraging to hear that you’re praying for and with me.

p.s I got my ticket to the US-Slovenia game on Friday today after a fun adventure trying to figure out the mall haha. It’s going to be awesome!

Day 2

Thanks for your prayers guys! Today was kind of another fun day for me because it was the World Changers’ first full day here. I tagged along with them for a journey to the Apartheid Museum in Jo’burg. We took these huge buses that look like dumpster trucks that they added seating into the bed. I didn’t think about taking a photo of them until now, since I’m writing to you all. I’ll be sure to get one because they are with us all week (they’re the World Changers’ transportation while they’re here). Anyways, the Apartheid Museum was pretty cool. I definitely learned a lot about the movement and how freaking cool Nelson Mandela is. He has really turned this country upside down in a good way. The tour was 2 and a half hours which I thought might have been too long. It was great and all but I was starving by the end of it and was ready to call it quits. If you ever come to Jo’burg, you should definitely see it.

On the ride to the museum, we saw a ton of people on the sides of the roads just cheering with their soccer horns that you will definitely hear if you watch any of the world cup haha. I mean we saw hundreds of people just crowding the corners of these busy streets just having a great time going crazy for the world cup. Nuts!!! I really want the world cup to come back to the States because I think that soccer is really growing fast. There are talks about the US hosting again in the 2022 world cup.

That was about all that we did today other than goofing off at the church with some of the South Africans who are helping with the church and these soccer clinics.

Something that you all could be praying for is that I would be able to build some relationships with the World Changers. It’s hard for me to get to know them because I’m not living with them at the church. It’s been kind of difficult so far because a lot of them have their own clicks, but today was a lot better. Also, we start the large part of our ministry tomorrow with the soccer clinics and VBS’s. Pray that we would begin to build relationships with the kids and some of the parents who will be there. Love you guys! Thanks for the support! I know God is going to do some crazy stuff this next week and a half

Day 1

Hey guys! Today was my first full day here in Johannesburg, SA! It’s been a great one. On the first day, Zach and I went to Soweto which is part of Johannesburg (most of the work we’re going to be doing is in Soweto and Dobsonville). I got to meet some of the people that they have been witnessing to over the years. After picking up a guy named Given, who is a strong believer, we went to a Bible study for their community that Zach led. There were great discussions and it was cool to see some of the people’s faith in God. There were also some who you could tell that they had a hard time believing in such crazy stuff.After the Bible study, we dropped off Given at his house and took a man named BabaJovia(sp?) to a market. Zach and I went back to the apartment to grab some food and go to the grocery store to get food for the next two weeks.

The group that is also helping this next week arrived at 3 so we went to meet some of them for the first time. We didn’t get to talk much with them, but we’ll be getting to know each other pretty quick in the next couple of days. We had dinner at Alan Lockes home where his wife made food for us and 7 others. We had a great time and it was fun getting to meet their team that serves in South Africa. Today was a day to kind of get to meet everyone who I’m going to be serving with for the next week and a half. I can already tell that God is going to do great stuff. Thanks for all the prayers!

PS- I won’t be taking a lot of pictures on this trip because the places that we go are high in crime and it would be likely that  my camera would get stolen or taken. Sorry!

2 Days ’til Departure

With it being two days until I leave, I began laying out stuff that I’m going to need. It has started to sink it that it is this close. I’ve been planning for this trip for over seven months now, and I’ve never been this stoked about this trip! I was reading J.I. Packer yesterday and it was a chapter talking about God being wise. He tied the topic of Him being wise and how he uses different situations in our lives (whether good or bad) to work for the good of his will. I thought it was so appropriate for me to read this and I know that God has something amazing planned to happen on this trip.