What did I do in South Africa?

Our primary goal was to show the people of the small town of Qwa-Qwa (pronounced with clicking) that God loves them so much he sent his son to die for them so they may live life abundantly. Imagine telling this to people where the unemployment rate is about 85% and 1 in 10 people are infected with AIDS.

First, thanks for all the prayer to be bold. Meeting strangers and sharing the Gospel is totally new and scary for me, but God did something to me and I was preaching it. The kindness these people showed us was amazing. We would knock on their doors introduce ourselves (with the help of interpreters) and they would simply invite us in. Most times we would spend the entire day with one family helping them with their laundry or planting them a new garden. We were not going to run in tell them about Jesus and walk out. That’s not was Jesus did so that’s not what we did. Jesus would not only teach people, he would also fulfull their needs by healing people and feeding people. They were also amazed Americans wanted to come into their house and talk with them and learn about them. We would take turns asking each other questions about the cultures and to my surprise they had a lot of questions about America. The only things they know about America they learned from watching Opera and American soap operas.

After dispelling the myths that none of us live our lives like the “Bold and the Beautiful” we would begin to find that almost no one has any hope of anything. Why would they? Most have no money. Live in a 4 bedroom house with usually 3 or 4 people that is about 20 feet x 20 feet. There are no jobs to get and no one can afford to move anywhere else to find a job. No one thinks about tomorrow it is just about getting by today. There is simply no hope.

That is when would start sharing the gospel with these people telling them about how much God loves each of them so much and he promises us that “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD , “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the LORD , “and will bring you back from captivity. (Jeremiah 29: 11-14).

Some received the gospel with open arms, others had many questions and if people didn’t want to hear anymore we would simply help them with anything else we could do for them around the house. Knowing we planted a seed and God would grow that seed.

We also went to a school for children with disabilities. In Africa if a child is born with any physical or mental disability he or she is usually shunned by the community. Most times parents even keep the kids inside all day because it’s a shame on family as well. We had a blast with these kids. I’ll be sure to right about them later.

Probably the hardest was when we visisted a hospital where we met patients with AIDS and shared the gospel with them and laid hands on them to heal them.

(Remember. More stories and many pictures will follow over the next couple of days.)