Provision in the Lord

DAY 7 IN SOUTH AFRICA

Today was a very special day for our team. We were able to work with a totally different group from what we have been working with this week. We spent the morning and early afternoon with a group of support group leaders from Living Hope. This group was all women except for one male, and this group has a very important job. They work with HIV positive patients beginning with their diagnosis and then continue on through their treatment. This is a tough job, and these people work tirelessly each day, and they often don’t have a lot of times to cut loose and enjoy themselves. They work to encourage and empower people to find work and live with the sickness they have contracted based on a Christ like compassion of love and care.

We spent the beginning portion of the session doing get to know you games where our team was able to interact with the support group leaders in a fun way and break the ice somewhat. Then we made a few simple crafts that they all enjoyed. This was just a fun time for them being able to do things that they don’t often get to do. Following the crafts we spent the next hour or so in fun competition games where they were really able to cut loose, and it was great to hear their laughter and see their smiles. Following the games began the most important part of our time with these leaders.

We lead them in a few games where they had to trust each other to complete certain tasks, and following that we had a time of encouragement. We would have a support group leader sit in the middle of a circle with others around them, and people would go around saying things they appreciated in that person and offer words of encouragement to that individual. This was such a powerful time as the emotion came out in the moment, and we really heard stories and comments about just how special this group is in the lives of the patients they work with. This is a very connected group and they truly love the Lord which was evident in their affirmations of each other.

Following the encouragement time, we spent some time in worship, and while that was going on, I got to do a very important task. Because this group spends their days in service to others, we wanted to show our appreciation for what they do and serve them. So we decided to wash their feet, and while the others were worshiping I prepared the materials for the washing. For me this was a time of worship, and I even got emotional during it, because for me it was my way of being able to pour into these leaders who will eventually pour into hundreds of povern stricken residents in townships around Cape Town.

Our team did a marvelous job of washing the leaders’ hands and feet, and following we asked each group leader what we could pray for them about, and our team then did so. Just a powerful, powerful moment for all involved. We wrapped up the session with feeding them a great meal from KFC (Yes there are Kentucky Fried Chickens here, as well as McDonalds). It was just a great way for our team to serve and to build into others whom it is their calling to pour into others. This group is such a great group of people, and their spirit and love of God is contagious. 

This was our final mission work for the week, so we spent the late afternoon with a couple of hours at the Canal Mall, which is the biggest mall on the African continent and the biggest mall by far I have ever seen. It has over 500 stores in it! Never seen anything like it. We were able to cut loose and enjoy some free time together before going to eat dinner at Moyo, a traditional African cuisine buffet that sits on an absolutely beautiful piece of property. You eat outside under a massive tent, with a live band playing African music, and the wait staff dressed in traditional African garb. Just a hodgepodge of some of the foods I ate tonight: Impala (some REALLY good steak), Ox Tail, Springbok Sausage, Spicy Yellowtail fish, Pop (a dish similar to grits or stuffing), Calamari, and a whole slew of deserts that were just simply amazing. It was an all you can eat buffet where you walked up to various sections and the food was given to you fresh off the grill, simply amazing.

It was a great day, though unfortunately the toil of the week has begun to take its toll as our team is exhausted, and some of the members have gotten weak and sick. One in particular is having a rough night, so please be in prayer for KC.

We have had an amazing week here working alongside some amazing people. There are no words to explain the humility and appreciation I feel for having been granted this experience. I have seen the Lord work in so many ways, that I can’t even tell where one starts and another begins. I think we call can recognize that in our lives if we would just simply take the time to stop and pay attention. We often take too many things for granted that we don’t’ realize all that the Lord is doing and has done in our lives. Please take a moment and thank God for his continuing provision in your life, because trust me, you wouldn’t want to go a day without it.

Be Blessed!

(P.S.: Tomorrow we visit Robin Island, where former South African president Nelson Mandela was held in prison.)