" You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, now you must show sincere love to each other brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart. " - 1st Peter 1: 22 (NIV)
This past week has been the calm before the storm. The week started off with a "Community Day" at a local village/township church about an hour outside of Pretoria. Community Days are outreach days designed so that we get to meet with rural church leaders at their churches, engaging in conversations about vision, development, ways to improve ministry etc. It is a learning experience that has enriched my understanding of ministry in rural South Africa and the challenges of under-resourced churches. It also provides a great opportunity for us to engage with young kids and the communities at large. The week was filled with these engagements at three different churches and it was great to see the cross-cultural barriers broken by oneness as the body of Christ. We then spent time preparing for Trailer Ministry, which is a variation of Vacation Bible School that is done under-resourced communities. We LITERALLY pack a trailer full of supplies and drive to a community and spend the week spreading the word of Christ. We might be tired, annoyed at hundreds of screaming kids, language barrier and a host of other things during this time but I would trade this time for anything else. The service of others in love and in truth is what we are called to do. We ended the week with a visit to Johannesburg hipster district (Braamfontein) and having some rad coffee. As we go into a week of full-blown ministry, God gave us this past week as a calm before the crazy week ahead.
I encourage all of you to live this week outside of your own selfish desires, dedicating it to acts of service. Especially those who can do nothing for you in return.
This past week has been the calm before the storm. The week started off with a "Community Day" at a local village/township church about an hour outside of Pretoria. Community Days are outreach days designed so that we get to meet with rural church leaders at their churches, engaging in conversations about vision, development, ways to improve ministry etc. It is a learning experience that has enriched my understanding of ministry in rural South Africa and the challenges of under-resourced churches. It also provides a great opportunity for us to engage with young kids and the communities at large. The week was filled with these engagements at three different churches and it was great to see the cross-cultural barriers broken by oneness as the body of Christ. We then spent time preparing for Trailer Ministry, which is a variation of Vacation Bible School that is done under-resourced communities. We LITERALLY pack a trailer full of supplies and drive to a community and spend the week spreading the word of Christ. We might be tired, annoyed at hundreds of screaming kids, language barrier and a host of other things during this time but I would trade this time for anything else. The service of others in love and in truth is what we are called to do. We ended the week with a visit to Johannesburg hipster district (Braamfontein) and having some rad coffee. As we go into a week of full-blown ministry, God gave us this past week as a calm before the crazy week ahead.
I encourage all of you to live this week outside of your own selfish desires, dedicating it to acts of service. Especially those who can do nothing for you in return.