A week of firsts

So I feel like I haven't posted anything awhile...a couple of days perhaps,a lot could happen in a couple of days.Anyways, I will try to do a recap of the last couple days as best I can and when I say  recap I mean the things that I remember as memorable.

Event #1: I caught the train by myself :)

I was heading out to the jewelry making workshop held in Mowbray ( its about a 40 minute train ride).I probably talked about this already but for anyone who didn't read that particular post or simply wasn't paying attention,here goes. Every Wedenesday and Tuesday there is a jewelry making workshop for refugee women,most of whom have converted from Islam.The workshop is an opportunity for them to fellowship with other women like themselves as well as earn some income from  the jewelry they make ( the necklaces they make are absolutely beautiful and are sold in shops locally and at churches overseas).This is a cool ministry because it is based on relationships and discipleship yet it offers something practical,a way to make money.

Right,back to the train ride,apparently I can pass for a South African so that definitely helped  me to  not feel  so conspicuous.But I think that was totally canceled out by the fact that I had no idea when and where my stop was, every time the train stopped I was practically breaking my neck off to see if  A.there was even a sign saying where we were and B.where we were... not very inconspicuous behaviour.But thank God I got where I was going in one piece..mininmal trauma.

Why is this a big deal you may ask? Well, South Africa has quite a crime problem...I don't feel unsafe,but at the same you have to be very cautious and in the back if my head I was thinking "o gosh someone is going to know I'm not from here and try to mug me".Another interesting thing about the train system here are  the divisions between first class and  second class carriages. From what I have gathered, under Apartheid the whites traveled first class and  everyone else on second, and from what I have observed its still very much like that today.I travel third class because it seems like the most normal thing for a person my complexion to do,plus its safer...there are always more people on third class,the class of the masses I suppose.

Event #2: I did a dance,woooo hoo

I don't think I ever stop being amazed at the freedom I've found in knowing Jesus,I mean there are still things I'm a bit skeptical of doing but for the most part I am no longer afraid of people,of their opinions and strange looks.

Last Wedenesday I was asked if I could do a dance for the women's Bible study the following day,my first response ( mentally at least) was nooooo way,you can't be serious.I like to dance but the thought of doing a solo piece at such short notice was downright terrifying.But it was put forward as a challenge,I generally don't like challenges but in the past I have found that there's no better way to see God move in your life than to accept a challenge, a challenge that you  know you can't complete in your own strength.So I accepted the challenge and prayed that God was use me to be a blessing,more importantly this dance was to be an act of worship.When you make something an act of worship the pressure and nervousness goes away,its not about you anymore,its about God..biggin Him up by any means available to you. So Thursday I did my dance, and I wasn't afraid...it may seem small but for me that was a majour God thing.Its funny because yesterday, a week later a lady who was there asked me if that was my ministry..all I could do is smile.

Event # 3: I visited an Sibongile

I confess  that I had heard of this orphanage but had made no attempt to go there in my first week and a half,I was scared,scared of what I would see,scared of how I would feel. Its not just an ordinary orphanage,its an orphanage for children suffering from Cerebral Palsy in a township called Kheylitsha (http://www.sibongile.org/en/). I just didn't know what to expect.Well by the second week I definitely felt this was somewhere God wanted me to go to,soooo I sucked it up and went. I'm not going to lie to you,it was hard...I'm not going to tell you that I went there and had warm fuzzy feelings,I went there and my heart just broke.To relate to those children was not something that I could do in my own strength,most of them can't speak or walk,some were fed through tubes in their stomachs.I felt so utterly powerless and started to question why God would allow children to live like that...the day went very slowly.But it was pretty in the endrewarding to realise that I could  put a smile on their faces,I sang Sunday School songs to this one girl and her face just lit up...or just smiling could get you a smile in return.It was challenging but I can't get those children out of my head.

I was telling my mum about this and she reassured me that  its not about us but its about the Holy Spirit being able to touch these children,so true because at the end of the day what are our physical bodies except something that will eventually deteriorate and shut down.The state of your body  does not dictate the state of your soul.

And on a more positive note,they will be receiving help from a physiotherapist.Some of the children should  be able to improve with the necessary therapy and attention.Our biggest trump card though  is this, we can pray for healing,God is still a God of miracles.

Those were some highlights from last week,this week has been a lot of meetings, missionaries are not exempt from meetings believe it or not.{ fellow YWAMers would relate to his).Some cool connections are coming out of them though and exciting things are on the horizon,so I'll keep you posted.

Till next time.

Musings

I just finished writing a fairly serious post about my week and  now I feel the need to vent on a couple more light hearted issues.

First,can you imagine what its like when you've just turned up in a cold unfamiliar place to be told or rather to have someone( you know who you are) suggest that you will be there,not for the 10 months you intend but for ten years!!!! I felt like I had just received a death sentence...you may wonder why I even took the comment on,its because  I honestly do have this fear or inkling that I could be here for longer than 10 months.Even though I want to follow God wherever He calls me there is still very much a part of me that just wants to take control of my life and do what I want to do,a part of me that wants to work so I can just buy whatever I want to buy...gasp!! Yes I said it. So there's always that battle going on inside of me,I would like to think that at the end of the next 10 months I will go home and settle down to something a bit more predictable but I honestly don't know that I will ( sorry mum )....trust God to put me in that position,guess I will just have to wait on Him.

Secondly,I don't know how many of you know this but missions and YWAM in particular is a breeding ground for couples and I my friend am 21 and very much single...no pressure. I  had the wonderful opportunity of living with 11 christian young woman and don't be fooled...its on our minds,will we get married?how will we know he's the right one? where will meet?...a serious question when you have no idea what continent you will be on in the next  6 months.So yeh,all of that to say that its been on my mind and apparently on the minds of the people who know me,once again...no pressure.

I would absolutely love the blueprint to my life,to tell me exactly what to do,when to do it,who I will marry etc etc.It would take all the risk out of life and relationships..perfect. I'm always trying to see if there are any God given clues that I can use to figure some of these things out but then  you know what the funny thing is,and this applies to the whole relationship issue.No matter what clues you get..or think you have gotten you will still get  feelings,feelings that sneak up on you when you aren't looking and before you know it you're not as interested in who God might have for you...you just want to do something with the feelings you have now,you want this person to be the "the" person. Its happened to be a couple times over the years, to the point now where I have a fairly clinical approach to emotions...this probably isn't the person for me just suck it up and wait it out,its just a crush and in a couple of months you'll be over.I don't know that this is the best approach...I actually just think its a kind of mechanism I use to prevent emotional hurt,I decide its nothing early a clock then I can ignore it and then there's no need to risk your heart...right?

Well I've decided to stop thinking about it so much( kind of),I've found,in my quest for clarity and in my curiosity that Christian literature can actually make the situation worse.Should you date or nooo its about courtship and building Godly friendships etc etc.I wish there was a formula,but no two stories are the same...you just have to trust God to guide you when those pesky emotions pop up.And after all they do provide a bit of excitement in our lives don' t they?


Now you know.

End of week one

So its the end of my first week in Muizenberg, Cape Town and I'm learning to like the place more and more.There's just this peace and joy in my heart that makes everyday a good day....don't get me wrong,as a Christian there are rough times ( for example my first two nights here ),times when you want to throw in the towel,times when you're dare I say, depressed.But one thing is for sure,the good times are gooood.

 

I think one of the hardest things has been people asking me "so what are you doing? " and having to explain what I'm going through over and over again ( hint hint please read this blog for answers to Frequently Asked Questions). Even though it feels like longer I have only been here for one week,no I have not led anyone to Christ,I have not rescued anyone from a lifestyle of desperation and poverty nor have I single handedly brought down any organised crime rings.But I will tell you about the things that I did get to do.

 

There is a ministry here called Justice Acts that does counter human-trafficking work (http://www.justiceacts.org/home/). I sat in on one of their training sessions and my eyes were really opened,opened to the magnitude of this industry that trades in human beings...fully understanding that it could honestly happen to anyone.Trying to understand why its so hard to get legislation passed that will make trafficking harder and most all of just sitting there and  getting a revelation of how much God loves these people,those who are trafficked and those who traffic.I also started to think of how many times ( sometimes just out of pure ignorance) signs are there that point us to something fishy but we just shrug our shoulders and ignore it or we simply think that it couldn't possibly happen in our country.It challenged me because now I'm thinking, its not ok for us to know where the prostitutes are,to here stories about women who are from Eastern Europe working in strip clubs and NOT care.I mean I won't tell you  a lie,in the past I kind of pretty much believed that  women in prostitution were there because they chose that lifestyle,I didn't understand the manipulation and treachery involved and if it was happening it wasn't happening in my country...sigh.

This training session was to prepare us for actually going onto the streets and talking to women who were in  prostitution. Initially I was anxious,well not just initially....I was anxious about it.What would I say? Would I really be able to cast aside all of my previous assumptions about these women and love them? or would I just stand there like a spectator at a zoo. Well one thing I learned is that just spending time in prayer changes a situation,its that important act of looking towards heaven for an example of what to do and when you do that you can't go wrong. We had a time of intercession before that night's outreach and by the time we hit the streets my heart was so tender I just wanted to hold these women in my arms I wanted to tell them they were beautiful and that Jesus loved them,my heart was just full with the love of God. These women are God's lost gemstones,each one precious and unique.

Many of them had come from other parts of South Africa looking for work,most of them had young children...most of them wanted to do something else.One girl told us she wanted to be a social worker,another..to work with people,her smile and personality could have lit up any room.The current recession affects us all,one of the women was a waitress back in her home city but like many people she couldn't get a job and and ended up in prostitution...she wants to be able to work as a waitress again. Another woman had come to Cape Town with a friend and somehow ended up in prostitution,she said it was a long story but from how she behaved and what she did say it she hadn't planned to be working the streets.

Wednesday I visited a discipleship house where refugee women were 'being discipled' but also had the chance to make jewelry to gain some form of income.Most of them were from Burundi.We spent the morning making jewelry,ate lunch together and then had a devotional time where a guest shared about the burdens that we as women take on in our lives. We're all the same,we all have the same concerns and desires and it was good to sit their as women,black,white,old and young praying for another and encouraging one another to keep on going.

Yesturday at a women's Bible study I met a girl my age who has had one of her children taken away,another one to take care of while having no job and yet is still able to tell me of the joy of being a Christian ( she'd been a Christian for six months) all I could think is wow.

The more I meet with people and hear their stories the more I'm realising  that there is no room for  a powerless,humanistic gospel.As Christians we need need need to offer the God who is an answer to the pain and brokenness in this world,the God who is alive and cares and is able to make impossible things happen,the God who can set free those who are in bondage,the God who heals people..inside and out.They are many of us who may be able to get through life without this God( or so we think),we have our degrees,comfortable homes,good families,good doctors to go to when we're sick...but what about those who have nothing,they need  a God who can be their everything,they need Jesus.

 Let's pray down the Kingdom of Heaven because they are too many who will not be able to make it in this earthly one.