Question: What has had the most impact on you since we've arrived in South Africa?
Jennifer: Coming on this trip I knew that I wanted to impart truth in love to the people here. Since arriving I think that the team has done just that. For me personally I have really become emotional on this trip as the Lord is imparting truth in love to me as well. He is teaching me about HOPE (Ithemba- in Zulu). When we were in Durban at the Container Ministry after the first session I had a women aproach me and tell me that the Lord has a word for me. She then went on to tell me a prophesy about my life and what the Lord has for me. It has changed me ever since. I feel His peace. I know He is near and I am so in love with Him and His people. We have seen many come to Christ this week but I think the defining moments for me personally is when I have been able to share information about HIV/AIDS (using the Hope cube as a visul aid). Those highschool students have no idea how HIV/AIDS is affecting their neighborhood and them. We have seen change in students through this type of ministry and through a powerful testimony by another team member. I am excited to see how next week goes and how the Lord is moving.
Mike: I think the most powerful part of the trip so far has been two parts. First was the Container Ministry Conference where we saw the impact of food shipped into South Africa that feeds orphans, widows & AIDS patients. Some of these people would have no food if God did not provide it through this ministry. The second was the opportunity to share the Gospel with a Zulu man. The only connection between us he had a moustache which is not common at all in their culture. He was obviously suffering from AIDS, but God drew him close & he professed Christ as Lord! He was not able to stand when we saw him but we prayed for God to heal him & we saw him 2 days later at a community outreach where he walked a mile one way & was there to worship! God is powerful & in control even when we do not see it.
Bevie: The thing that has impacted me the most is the children and the despair they're in. The hunger that is here is so great. Holding a little boy that is in 1st stage of starvation. It was also extremely wonderful for me to put a bag of food in a woman's hands and today I get to give some canes out.
Kathy: I am so blessed to be here to be a part of God's plan to be His light and hope for those who are suffering so greatly. I am humbled and in awe of the people who serve here (the home base care workers, Erlo and all of Hearts of Compassion) on a regular basis. There is so much suffering and so many people without a shepherd. I have been challenged and convicted to feed God's sheep whenever and whereever he leads me. What a privilege to be used by him. God is good and His presence is here in this dark place. He is powerful and moving mightily. My faith is being stretched.
Guy: This is a difficult question to answer. There has been so much! There have been heartfelt experiences and mind bending experiences. Our hut to hut ministering has been the peak heartfelt experience; the poverty, the hopelessness, the sickness, the hunger, where do I stop? In the way of intellectual experiences, the Container Ministry Conference provided a lot of food for thought. A couple of points being, in order for a ministry to change, we need to do things differently (definition of insanity -- doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results). And the heavy, powerful equation: take whatever limited resourses, add compassion, and great innovations will come. WHAT IS YOUR PASSION?
Twyla: I think the thing that has impacted me the most was the great need here. There is such a need for food and other material goods, but maybe even more obvious is the need for God and his joy. Of couse there is a great need for God's strength, love, and happiness everywhere, but the conditions many people live in here make it very apparent of their need for the hope that you can only get from a relationship with God. Another thing that has been very sad for me is the huge population of those infected with AIDS/HIV. In the province we are in right now, seven out of ten people are infected. It is heart-breaking to look at the young children and know that some of them will be infected someday. We went to the hut of one woman with AIDS who had been cut off from her family. When we gathered around her to pray for her, tears started rolling down her cheeks. I cannot imagine the hurt she must be experiencing, both physically and emotionally. Her hut was so dark and soot covered virtually everything; her living conditions were so poor and her life so hopeless. She has probably made the greatest impact on me so far. I feel there is a great need for prayer here, for those living in these huts and for the children in the schools, where teenage pregnancy and AIDS/HIV are such an issue. Please pray for these people, that they would recieve the Lord, who alone can lift them from their grief.
Ritch: The greatest single impact is so difficult to pick because there seems to so very many of them this time around. Container Ministry Conference was amazing. The hearts of the food givers and the hearts of the food distributors were exposed equally to us during that time. There were some heart breaking stories and teaching that was shared and I woke up in the middle of the night thinking about these stories, walked out back to the beach (Indian Ocean) and prayed that God would show me what His plan is for me. Why am I on this earth? He brought the answer immediatly to me "love my people". Easy to say but how do I love them? I got that answer immediately as well "feed, clothe and tell them about me". I cried several times during that conference and sitting on the beach that night I wept because I knew God has that same answer to all of us that ask. He has no other plan for the hurt and suffering in the world but through those that follow Him and call him Lord. We are his hands and feet. We alone can show his love, forgiveness and compassion to others. We can choose to allow ourselves to be used to make a difference one day at a time or we can choose not to. I choose the former! There is hope for South Africa. Erlo has a sticker on the back of his Land Rover that says "Africa must be saved!". Many, including him, are working to do just that and their dedication is so inspiring for me.
Tom: God is so good! The wonder and awesome power of the Lord have been so evident, and His brilliance in enlisting people and events to meet His loving purposes. I have marvelled at the willingness of everyone on our missions team to take the next step so that God's plan can be fulfilled, and the flexibility of each person to modify that original idea as God's direction became clearer or His desires encompassed more people and larger designs than our own vision had. Yesterday we were in Dalton Bridge for the second day in a row. This is an impoverished community where unemployment is high and HIV/AIDS is rampant. Over the past few years Erlo has established a trusting presence in this community, and some requested greater clarity from God's Word on dealing with forgiveness in their lives--forgiveness for past abuses and injustices to them and assistance in learning to forgive themselves regarding the consequences of poor choices on their own part. Five of our team members crafted bible stories with the theme of forgiveness and insights regarding the need and purposes for it in our lives. We then asked the men and women present at this meeting to tell us which stories most clearly spoke to them and why and then asked them what insights they had garnered from the Word. The Holy Spirit really worked on their hearts and minds, and they gleaned exactly what they needed to hear. Later a spokesperson from the community touched our hearts when she told us how valuable this experience was for them and how helpful it would be for dealing with the many abuses they had encountered in their lives and the anger and desire for revenge that often surfaced as a result. She expessed her gratitude that we had come to them with a message of hope and that they could feel God's love in the prayers and healing that followed the story telling. What a privilege it was to be God's hands and feet in this expereince! We marvel at the miracles each new day brings and the joy and beauty of fellowship that we are experiencing. Please continue with your prayers. Know what a difference they are making!
Debby: Under Construction! Check back later.
Patty: Under Construction! Check back later.
Joanne: Under Construction! Check back later.
Posts
We had a bit of down time before we met with the youth group and showed a Nick Vujicek video followed by Bevvie's testimony that God can use anyone of us. We just have to be willing to be used. It was very powerful for the youth to hear this and many wanted prayer afterwards. We all retired very tired but very happy to have been part of God's love for this area.
We were blessed to be invited to attend the Container Ministries Conference in Durban Feb 17th and 18th. Durban is the largest port in all of Africa and the container ships are constantly coming in here to unload freight which is shipped throughout the continent. Part of that freight is donated goods and food which is the basis of the container ministries sponsored by Grace Family Church. The conference is to acknowledge and thank all of the people involved in getting goods to Africa through the stories of different ministries that receive and distribute it. The start of the conference was some awesome worship led by GRC's worship team. The worship was both in english and zulu which was beautiful and powerful. There were some great presentations. We heard from people that clearly have such a compassion for the plight of the poor and sick around them and had to do something about it. Even though they felt the problems were overwhelming the did something about it by just asking God what they could do for today and ask Him again the next to show them the next thing to do. It made all of us introspective of how we might not do the Lord's work of loving his people because we may feel the problem is simply too big for us to make a difference. It confirmed our purpose for coming to Africa, to love God's people. We heard from International Justice Mission who investigate cases of child abuse and enslavement around the world. We were shocked at the number of people who have been taken captive and and are forced to work and/or have sex for those that are enslaving them. It was heartbreaking. We heard from those that run food distribution or feeding centers for those that would otherwise have nothing to eat but for those programs. We heard from those caring for HIV infected people and what is happening in the country to supply the antiviral drugs needed to combat the disease. We heard how teenager girls are giving their bodies just to get a ride into town or to put more minutes on their cell phones. We heard of families in which both the father and the mother have died and one child is raising the others. All heart breaking stories that will stay with us. Those that we heard from are truly heroes. They are not extraordinary. They simply heard God calling them to love their neighbors and obeyed knowing they can only do so much but also having the faith that it's the Lord that gives them the strength and resources to do much more. We were so blessed to have been able to attend and hear what God is doing here.
Wednesday night we stayed in a house made available by a family who are members of Grace Family Church. Their hospitality was another huge blessing for us. The house was right on the Indian Ocean and the beach was only 100 feet from the back door. We each made several new friends and contacts that God may use for his purposes. South Africa is a beautiful place with wonderful people. I'm sure every one of us feels a tug in our hearts for the people here. 
We haven't known how to put pictures in this blog until yesterday so I'm putting a bunch of them on now. 
