A Whole New World...

This is the view from my window where I have been spending the last 4 weeks. Hardly the kind of "new world" like Aladdin and Jasmine sing about, huh? The township, "Gugulethu," which means "Our Treasure" in the native language "Xhosa" (pronounced Koh-zah, with a clicking of the tongue) is made up of shacks with no running water or electricity. They are very close together, as you can hopefully see and usually host about 10 people. These townships are filled with poverty, crime of all sorts, HIV, poor education, etc., etc., etc. Alcohol is rampant and children are playing everywhere. Most people would judge this place and think like the people in Jesus' time when they said, "What good can come out of this place?" This is why we are here, to unbury the treasures in the darkness, the lost souls whom our Lord Jesus Christ died for, just like you and I. Little by little we are making our presence known in the community, by playing with the children, praying for alcoholics who wish they could stop drinking so they could be better mothers, a man with heart troubles, etc. Even as depressing as it can be in the natural, I have faith that the Lord is using as bright lights bringing hope to the hopeless and fulfilling Isaiah 61. God is enlarging my heart as I have typed before through prayer and realizing the truth in Matthew 5. It's a beautiful thing, really to live like this, and I am excited to share testimonies of how God is using us as we venture out to bring the Kingdom of Heaven to earth. It's about pressing in and standing in the gap for a community and refusing to be discouraged. God sees the bigger picture and He is in control. He loves this place, and with the time I have here, I am determined for Him to use me as a vessel to pour out His love however I can. Can I get an AMEN?

Becoming a "S.W.A.N."...Aren't we beautiful?

Sorry it's been so long since I have updated this...It's been on my heart to let everyone know what is going on in my life, and I am hoping to add more pictures soon. I don't know how to explain what's happened lately except ALOT! I chose the title "Becoming S.W.A.N.s" because I am seeing the students on my DTS (discipleship training school) changing and we are Seeing Wonders Among the Nations. Seriously. God is transforming lives among us from some of the roughest backgrounds and making swans out of us. It has been an honor to see God use me to speak life into these precious ones, and I feel like they really are my younger brothers and sisters. They have also taught me a lot about myself and the areas in my life that I need "character building." Not always fun, but necessary because this is the time for pruning. I have realized its challenging to live with guys!!!! Especially ones that leave the toilet seat up and need practice aiming, if you know what I mean! And for some reason, out of all the qualified students, I got nominated as bathroom cleaner! Yippee! 14 people sharing one shower and 2 toilets, just picture the bathroom schedule in the morning! Not funny. Especially when breakfast is at 7:00 am. Slowly, but surely we are practicing 1 Cor. 13 every day...It's a common passage I am slowly starting to memorize. :) But without these small challenges, we wouldn't be a family. Through all its quirks and frustrations, God is showing us the power of community and helping us die to ourselves everyday. I didn't expect it to be this challenging as I have lived in community before, but this is very different. Most of the students are brand new Christians and are just receiving the revelation of the love of Jesus for the first time.
But more importantly, how God is knitting us together is bearing witness to the neighborhood around us. We draw attention to ourselves because it is NOT normal for "colored people, black people, and white people" to live and enjoy being with each other. It's strange, since segregation ended only 12 years ago at the end of apartheid. South Africa's "civil rights movement" shorted ended, so one can imagine the process of healing this country is working towards. I would say the greatest gift God has blessed us with is joy and laughter. There is never a dull moment with this group of people, and no matter how grading on my nerves some of these guys can be, God has a way of using it as a teachable moment. Little by little big changes are happening in the hearts of these guys. I can see transformation happening each day as they are becoming more men of God. It's priceless and I have so much hope!