Africa- Rosedale: Youth

We met with the youth for the first time at a youth meeting held in Debra's yard on a Wednesday night. We had already met many of the youth who came. We started out the first meeting with a few games: human knot, mingle, the winking game, and big booty. I managed to bruise my legs playing big booty, that is ridiculous. It was fun and we had a good time.

Playing a game with the youth (photo courtesy of Eddy)

After the games we gathered in a circle. Lindsay shared her testimony then Ethan asked a question. Then it was kind of like uh, where are things going? It did eventually lead to good conversation and discussion. John asked the youth what they would like if they had their own church. The youth started naming stuff: singing, dancing, prayer, a message, talk about problems, everybody can participate in some way. So we started doing some of the things they named and kind of had their first service. We sang some songs and then the youth started sharing some of their testimonies and trials in their life. Enna shared with us how she keeps losing the father figure in her life. In short, her biological father died and two fathers she has had since then have died. There were many tears. The girls gathered around her and prayed for her. I just wanted so much for her to know she has the best Father anyone could want or need. She has a Father in Heaven who will never leaver her or forsake her. While the girls were praying over Enna the guys were on the other side of the yard talking. When we gathered back together the guys had some great news. Winston, Garrick, and Amor accepted Christ! Amen! A time and day were discussed for the youth to have their own youth church. They decided on Saturdays at 3pm. We sang a few more songs, prayed and the meeting was over. The meeting was over but we weren't done. I guess it'd be more appropriate to say the Lord wasn't done. A boy, Albert, had been hanging around the outskirts of the group the whole night. Honestly I thought he was one of the children but he was really 13. He started talking to Whitney and Ethan. Albert gave his life to Christ! 4 new brothers in Christ, amen! God is good. God is so good! It amazed me how open, honest, willing to take charge and get things done the youth were. I hope, I pray, it isn't just a temporary thing but it lasts long after we've left. I was also amazed at all the young children who hung around the youth meeting from the games until a good ways into the discussions when parents and siblings began taking them home. They behaved so well, sitting and listening. So that first meeting with the Rosedale youth went very well. Sloan and Eddy had to miss part of it to go meet with some guys in Louisvaleweg who ended up not speaking English so they just listened to Petrus talk in Afrikans to the guys. As Sloan and Eddy said though, "4 salvations and a church!"

The first youth meeting we had while many of the kids were still there. (Photo courtesy of Eddy).

We met with the youth twice more for youth church on Saturdays. I don't remember too much from the first youth church and I checked my journal and didn't say much about it. The second time we had youth church not as many youth showed up but a guy named Trevor did come. Trevor asked how can he know God when he can't see God. So church was spent on that question. John led a discussion on John 1:1-18, verse by verse, to answer Trevor's question. Then he went through the Romans Road. Trevor said he got it but he didn't want to accept Christ. At the end we found out Trevor is a Jehovah's Witness. We knid of came to the conclusion that he was probably passing by when he saw us meeting meet and thought we were JW (b/c they meet on Saturdays) and didn't find out until near the end we are Baptist. He said he would go to church in Rosedale on Sunday but he did not show up. Trevor needs our prayers.

John and Trevor (photo courtesy of Megan)

Amor (the girl) isLena's youngest child (just in case you're trying to keep up, Lena has 4 children: a son, Suzie, Enna, and Amor. Her son and Suzie are done with school). Amor I would say is youth aged maybe a little younger since she never came to any of the youth meetings/you church. At the ladies' tea in Rosedale Amor accepted Christ! Amen! What a joy for Lena that 2 of her daughters accepted Christ within days of each other and Enna already has.Pray for Lena's son to accept Christ.

Africa- Rosedale: Children and Church

One afternoon we went to Rosedale to play soccer with JimLee and whoever might show up. On our way to the (dirt) field we tried getting some kids to come too. Little did we realize that by the time we got to the field we would have a following of children! It started out with everybody kind of unsure of what to do. We brought a soccer ball and frisbee with us but there were so many kids! The boys started playing soccer and frisbee. The girls, lead brilliantly by Lindsay and Morgan, sang silly songs with the kids and played games. By the end of our time with them we had all branched off with some kids all doing different things. I tried learning some Afrikans and then ended up just letting them play with my hair.



The second time we went to play with the kids we had a bit of a rough start. Lindsay, Morgan, and Whitney were all in the car that first went by Paballelo before coming to Rosedale. All of our best leaders in children's songs and games were missing! We tried. We really did but the kids just weren't having us. We led the same songs that Morgan and Lindsay had the week before we just couldn't get it to work though. So once they got there things picked up. It was much like the first time. Silly songs and games. Lindsay tried telling the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego but the kids weren't doing so well at listening. We also attempted Red Rover with the kids. It worked. Not! The first person was called and ran like normal but then everybody ran, from both sides! So we broke them into smaller groups and had several circles of duck, duck, goose going on. Me and Tiffany ended up in a circle with some girls learning I guess you could call it a dance. It was like Little Sally Walker in a way except there was a set dance to do each time. It was fun!


Church. The second Sunday Sloan, Tiffany, and I went to church in Rosedale. Sloan got to preach. He did great, even though each time I tried telling him so it ended up sounding like a back handed compliment. He really did go a good job. He preached on not having a guarantee of tomorrow. He used the following scriptures: James 4:13-15, Proverbs 27:1, Matthew 25:1-13. I'd never really thought about the two fold nature of it that not only could something happen to you and you might not be around tomorrow but also the Lord could come back and you have no tomorrow. I think Matthew 25:1-13 is one of those passages that I tell myself I know what it means but I never did really think about it before.

Suzie, Lena's oldest daughter was at church that day. During our time in Upington Tiffany was able to develop a good relationship with Suzie and spend time with her one on one on multiple occasions. The next day Tiffany met with Suzie again and Suzie surrendered her life to Christ! Amen!

(Whitney's photo)

*I didn't get any photos from church on Sunday. I didn't get any of or with Suzie or Amor either. :( I'm a slacker. But there are many pictures of beautiful children!

Africa- Rosedale: Adults

There are 4 main women in the church in Rosedale: Dinah, Sandra, Debra and Lena. (I think there might be a 5th, Willis, but I never met her). They are wonderful women. Before we left we were each assigned one of them as our prayer partner. We got to meet them for the first time on a Thursday night at prayer meeting. It was dark when we arrived and we were just about to sit down when Dinah tells us wait, don't sit down, I want to meet my prayer partner. Who's Emily. I happened to be standing right in front of her. I said that's me and was enveloped in the biggest, loving hug. At prayer meeting that night everybody shared whatever prayer requests they had and Mrs. Liz wrote them down. Then we prayed for each requests one by one as Mrs. Liz read them out. Everybody praying out loud at one time. Then we sang some songs, Blessed is the Name of the Lord and we were introduced to the song The Power of God (don't know the actual title). The Power of God became our go to song to sing everywhere. (lyrics below). Something that really stuck out to me at the prayer meeting was when one of the ladies had a praise/prayer requests. A family member was back together with their husband and were working on their problems and came to visit her together. What sticks out about that to me is that lady who said this said we've been praying for this and God brought them back together. God fixed their relationship.

Dinah and me

On a Tuesday while the rest of the group went prayer walking Tiffany, Whitney, Mrs. Liz and I went to have a Bible study with Dinah. Mrs. Liz is studying through Ephesians with her. It was a good time of Bible study and I got to share my testimony with her. Then when we finished with the Bible study we had some good fellowship with her just talking.

We had a ladies' tea with the Rosedale ladies one day. Lindsay lead a discussion about Esther. For the ladies at the tea there were parcels (treat bags) which we put a Bible verse in each one. We went around the group and each lady read their verse. Mariana encouraged us to really pray about the verses we put in each bag. It was incredible as they went around the circle and read the verse and discussed it and then they each said how much that verse spoke to them. How it was just what they needed to hear.

We also prayer walked in Rosedale. The first time that the group went prayer walking, whileI was at Dinah's, some of them talked to a woman Magdalene, who accepted Christ. Amen! The next time we went prayer walking it was just the girls, I don't remember where the guys were that day. Debra had couple of people she wanted us to go visit. At the first house was an elderly lady, Caroline, who was blind. Mariana began talking to her in Afrikans. Then Caroline accepted Christ. Amen! We prayed for her, for the new sister in Christ and that the Lord would heal her her eyes. the next house we went to was a lady named Maria. Mariana, what an amazing lady she is, takes out a container of glasses and starts giving Maria glasses to try on until she found a pair that helped her to read so that she could read her Bible.

Caroline with Mariana
(Megan's photo)

Mariana helping Maria find the right pair of glasses so she can read.
(Megan's photo)

Here is just a little bit about some of the ladies:

Dinah- Dinah has two youth sons, Sergio and JimLee, and two young children, a daughter
CarlyAnn and a son who went by Racky.

Lena- Lena has 4 children. A son who is either the oldest or second oldest who doesn't know Christ and three daughters Suzie, Enna, and Amor who now all know Christ. Church was held in Lena's yard.

Debra- I don't know home many children Debra has but I know for sure of one son Amor. Youth meetings, the youth boys' Bible study, and youth church are held in Debra's yard.

Sandra- I don't really know anything about Sandra's family. I do know Sandra is very generous and made us some Sandra cakes one than once and Sandra soup. All of which were delicious!

Lena, John, Debra, Sergio, Sandra, Liz, Dinah, CarlyAnn, JimLee
(photo from John & Liz)

The Power of God

The power of God (ooh ooh)
Is moving around the world
The power of God (ooh ooh)
Is moving around the world

Can you feel it?
Yes, I feel it.
Can you feel it?
Yes, I feel it.

The power. The power.
The P, the O, the W, the E and the R.
The power. The power. (The pow wow wow wow wow wow wow the power)

I feel it in my hands.
I feel it in my feet.
I feel in in the air.
I feel it everywhere.

The power.

Africa- Prayer Needs

In Rosedale, Louisvaleweg, and Paballelo drinking is a big problem. It is not only a problem because of the drunkeness it leads to but it stops many people from going to church. They have this idea that they can't go to church until they get rid of this problem. It's probably fair to say that there are many people who could care less anyway and don't want to get rid of any drinking problems they may have. There are others who let it hold them back though. As long as they are trapped in this sin they won't go to church. They do not realize that the Lord accepts us the way we are and He is the one who will help you combat the sin.

Another thing is that the people don't recognize the Lord. The name of Jesus is rarely mentioned. Everything is God. The concept of the trinity and the the three individual parts being three in one can be hard to understand and grasp even for believers. It's something that to an extent will remain a mystery until one day when we are in Heaven. In these churches everything is attributed to God and nothing to Jesus.

Lastly, from my own observations, is the lack of men in church. Like I've said before I didn't get the chance to go to church in Paballelo so I don't know how many men attend church there. In Louisvaleweg there were some but the women still pretty easily outnumbered them. In Rosedale, when I had the opportunity to go to church there, there were no men. I don't think there is any male involvement in the church in Rosedale at all other than the youth boys.

These are three big things that Upington needs prayer for. Prayers that men and women, young and old will turn away from alcohol. Ephesians 5:18 Do not get drunk on wine which leads to debauchery, instead be filled with the Spirit. Pray that they will not depend on the alcohol that will leave them empty and thirsting but that they will wholeheartedly thirst for the Lord. Pray that the people will recognize Christ. Recognize that yes God is good but it is Christ, the son of God, the image of the invisible God, the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us, who died on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. Jesus who was crucified in our place so that through believing in Him we may have eternal life. Pray that the men in the communities will come to know the Lord. Pray for the women in their lives and in the communities who are seeking the Lord that they will be a light in the darkness. That they can be positive Christian examples to the men. Pray that the men will step up and take their roles as leaders in the church.

Africa- The Setting

Upington, South Africa. Now where is that? Why in the Northern Cape Province, of course. In north west South Africa but south west of Johannesburg. Still no idea, here's a map:


Upington is right on the edge of the Kalahari Desert.

(Kalahari shown in red)

When I think of desert I think of a sand, cactus, and tumble weed kind of image. Wrong image. Here's are a few images of the various landscapes we saw.


While we were there it was the beginning of winter. In the mornings and at night it was cold but most days it got quite hot. There was at least one night that the temperature got to freezing.

We stayed in dormitories at Petrus and Mariana's house. They were really nice. Beds, electricity, toilets, running water (hot water!).

I guess you could call it downtown, or maybe it was just simply in town, the business district, the city part, whatever you want to call it, it was similar to what you would find in the States, nothing out of the ordinary. Paved roads, buildings, shops, restaurants, hotels.

We worked in 3 areas. Rosedale, Louisvaleweg, and Paballelo. I think they might be referred to as townships, but don't quote me on that. I would describe them as neighborhoods or subdivisions. They had some paved roads but mostly dirt and gravel roads. I can only speak with certainty about some of the houses in Rosedale because I never went in any houses in Louisvaleweg or Paballelo but I do believe they are all pretty much the same. The houses are small, either brick or corrugated iron. They had electricity and running water. I think what kind of threw me off about them was the fact that they were so small but yet they did have electricity (lights, stove, tv, refrigerator) and running water. It's like because of what I am accustomed to in the States seeing this combination of size yet having resources for some reason threw me for a loop. If all that makes sense. I didn't really get very good pictures of the neighborhoods but here are a couple:

Rosedale
(actually if I'm not mistaken this is a newer part of Rosedale that might not have water yet, it's not quite like the rest of Rosedale)
Louisvaleweg

See the tall light poles in the background? Not the playing field lights but the other ones. They have these in both Louisvaleweg and Rosedale (I don't know about Paballelo) to try and make it safer at night and stop crime.

I will touch more on the places when I post about each one but here is a quick run through. Church in Rosedale is held at Lena's house. Youth church is held at Debra's house. I think prayer meeting is held at different houses but the night we went it was at Dinah's house. Louisvaleweg has a church building. It is made of metal and has one light that is plugged in once it gets dark. Paballelo has a church building too. I only went to it once so I don't know much about it but I do know it has electricity.

Church Building in Louisvaleweg

A few more little tid bits about the setting. The Orange River runs through Upington. They drive on the other side of the road, and their steering wheels are on the other side. Upington has the longest runway in the southern hemisphere and it is an emergency landing spot for NASA.

Orange River

Africa- Introduction

The next several post will be about the mission trip to Upington, South Africa. This post will just be a brief introduction and will mainly be about people.

In South Africa there are three main people groups the Afrikans, the coloureds, and the blacks. The Afrikans would be the white people. I don't quite recall the difference between the blacks and the coloureds but I believe it is to do with their ancestry or something like that. In the areas we worked we were working with the blacks and coloureds. Just by looking at a person you can not tell to what group they belong. Many of the coloureds appeared to look black but there were a few who were coloured and looked white. Not that we ever asked any of the people but we were told that is completely acceptable to ask a person what they were. The groups stem from apartheid. I myself need to do some reading up on it so I can only give a very basic explanation of it. There was a great amount of racial segregation and though the Arikans were the minority group they were still the ones with the power. That is about all I can give for an explanation.

Who are we and who were we working with in South Africa? We are a group of 9 from the Baptist Collegiate Ministry at Louisiana State University. 7 of us are undergrad students at LSU, 1 is a doctoral student, and 1 attends seminary in New Orleans. We are:

Lindsay, Ethan, Whitney,Morgan, Eddy, Sloan,
Megan, Tiffany, and Emily (me, not pictured).

Everything was arranged and set up with a missionary couple from America who are living and serving in Upington.

We also worked with and lived with an Afrikan missionary couple Petrus and Mariana

Both of these missionary couples are a great encouragement and inspiration in both their relationship with the Lord and their relationship with each other.

God is good. God is great! The mission trip was great!

This is my story, this is my song

Whilst in S. Africa I learned the beauty and value of being able to share your own testimony. As Petrus, a missionary in S. Africa, said (not his exact words but the same message)someone can try and refute your faith or beliefs but they cannot refute your testimony. Your testimony should have three general parts: 1) life before Christ 2) how/when you accepted Christ 3) what the Lord has been doing in your life since. For me parts 1 and 2 just seem to go together. Part 3 on the other hand I've learned can change. I've especially learned this recently, as recent as within the past 3 months. So my part 3 will probably be quite long but for me it is a very crucial point. So here it is:

I grew up going to church. I went to pretty much every youth function there was. I was at a youth retreat/camp when I realized there was something missing in my life. I didn't have a relationship with Christ. I did not have him as my Lord and Savior. It was like I had been waiting for some kind of sign. I don't know what kind of sign I was waiting but just something big to be like now- now is the time to accept Christ. Now is the time to begin a relationship with Him. I realized I didn't need some kind of sign. I knew what the Bible says. I knew that Christ came and died and came back to life. He died so that my sins would be forgiven. So that I would have a way to Him, to Heaven through believing in and accepting Him. One of the nights on the retreat I began talking to a youth leader. A couple nights later I talked to that youth leader again. Then later that night I prayed accepting Christ into my life as my Savior.

After that I read my Bible a little more. I prayed a little more. But there was this one sin that I held on to. This sin was keeping me from giving my all to God. It finally got to the point were it was just really getting me down and I was at a really low spot. I would leave worship feeling completely down, filthy, and unworthy, wanting to cry. At TNT someone shared a testimony a pastor spoke two weeks in a row. All that was said really started getting to me. After TNT that second week a friend asked me how I was doing to which I responded I'm making it. They didn't just leave it at that though. They asked if was something physical or spiritual. I had been sick that week so my response was a little bit of both but physically I'm feeling better. Their response was something along the lines of is Satan kicking you trying to get you down. I don't think I said much other then yeah because otherwise I would of started crying. I went home that night and sobbed. I kept reading the scriptures that were preached about over again. I was at a complete loss. I messaged that friend and told them briefly what was going on and pretty much just begged them to pray for me. They sent back some encouraging words and scripture to read. During the next week I met with this friend and we talked about it, confessed, and confided. They were great help and the Lord really used them to speak to me. The friend was able to point out that I had been spiritually lazy. They pointed me back to the Lord, back to reading the Bible, praying, just spending time with the Lord. So I did that. I started spending more time with the Lord and relying on Him. My first worship experience after that was like a whole new experience. I didn't have this sin holding me back anymore. I had a new joy and peace in my life. 2 Corinthians 10:12-13 has been a great encouragement for me. "So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." It is a reminder to me that when/if I am ever tempted with this sin again that I can say no to it. If I run away from the sin and run to God then He will provide a way out. He will indeed be faithful and Satan will not have a victory. And He has been faithful.

I have also found Psalm 32 to be an encouragement.