Rachel's Reflections

Rain: I do not like rainy days normally, I much prefer the sun, but I was thankful for it on Thursday because of the unexpected opportunity. We arrived for ministry at Zandspruit like the other Thursday afternoons but this time there were no kids greeting our vehicle. The rain had caused all of them to stay in their little class areas which meant each teacher taught the lesson to their own class. I got placed as a helper with the cute grade 2's :) The teacher did an excellent job explaining the importance of the Word of God and the kids really seemed to listen and understand. Afterwards she opened it up to questions and one boy raised his hand "the devil and God are not the same." After making sure he was making a statement and not a quetion she asked why they are not the same. A little girl responded in all innocence "because they are not friends." It made me smile at the honesty and simplicity of her reasoning.  KHS:  I continue to love the ministry at KHS ...

KHS Ministry: Neo was the only grade 10 girl in my small group on Tuesday night but I think God had a reason for that. We just briefly introduced ourselves and then started talking about the message Jabu had shared from Joshua 24:14-22 and Ecclesiastes 12:1. "Choose this day whom you will serve;" Neo said she chose the Lord but I felt I needed to pursue that thought and go deeper. I discovered she she is taught that you get into heaven by doing good works. I quoted "all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment" for her but couldn't remember the reference. We talked about it and then looked at John 3:16 and Ephesian 2:8-10. We are only saved by believing in Jesus and what He did on the cross, not good works. Our good works are simply the way we show God thank you after He has saved us and to build a relationship with Him.  I could tell she was thinking hard about it but would need time. At the end I told her our homework for the week was to find the verse...

Passion Concert: What a privilege I had last night of attending the Passion concert in Pretoria with our Discipleship Training Center students and staff. It was amazing to worship the Lord with 45,000 other people in the Loftus rugby stadium. Louie Giglio spoke on Tetelestai; which is the Greek word for "it is finished." This was the last word Jesus spoke as He was hanging on the cross. Jesus was saying that religion, sin and it's power, shame, and self were finished, done for, He had completed them and in Him they no longer matter. He even gave an invitation at the end and many people trusted Christ as their Savior! After this we sang the song "Even so come" which was my favorite song of the night because I'm so excited for the day when Jesus returns and I can be in His presence.  Zandspruit: On Thursday afternoon I went to a ministry center in the Zandspruit community where we spoke to over 100 children about running the race for Christ (1 Corinthi...

Taxi: Last Sunday I went to church with Thobile and in order to get there we rode the taxi system. One on the way there and two on the way back; I was the only white person on all the taxis. After the last taxi dropped us off Thobile and I still had to walk Larsen's  road to get back to property. I enjoyed the time spent with Thobile and the conversation we were able to have about culture.  Students: The students are here! :) I have three roommates: Abbie is an intern with me, K.T. is a fun, outgoing student, and Connie is a sweet, quiet student. We've had some great conversations already and I'm looking forward to the year ahead with them.  Uncle John, our director, spoke from Hebrews 10 our first night together; the take away was to draw near (to God), hold on , and spur one another towards love and good works . Cooking: One of my main tasks this week was to help with meal prep. I had fun making Bunny chow, samp and beans, pasta salad, and chicken, rice, and s...