The Good the Bad and the Ugly in only 8 months!
Through this last 8 months we have already experienced so much! We thought it would be good to take a little time to reflect and look back on what has happened since we have been here.
The Work.
Emthonjeni Staff Bible Study: Every Wednesday Trevor this time to help invest in the Emthonjeni leadership and connect them to Jesus. It has been a fruitful time that has provided the staff a place to grow and learn together. They are learning to be real and trust God and each other. Pastors Gathering: Once a month Trevor has helped gather Pastors from the different churches in Zandspruit. There has been much division and competition in the past and it has been great to see the Pastors catch a vision to work together for the transformation of their community and to support each other.
Discussion group: We are really excited about the diverse group that meets at our house each Sunday evening to discuss what it means to be a Christian in South Africa given its sordid past. The intention of the group has been to provide a place to talk about real issues in South Africa and figure out what God’s call is for us who claim to follow Jesus. We have committed as a group to keep it real and honest. We know God is moving among us as we talk about things most people don't talk about; money, privilege, poverty and what Jesus has to say about all those things. It is crazy but we are excited to see fruit and the relationships that will be built out of these conversations.
Friendships. I can say that we have a few relationships that are budding. Trevor particularly has begun some very real and admonishing relationships that, I am as excited about as he is. These men are really a gift as they journey together, wrestling with what it means to minister to the poor. We continue to have people over often and plan occasions in efforts to keep on the hard task of building and initiating friendship.
Language has also been a bit of a roller coaster journey. It was so difficult to sit in on conversations and not know what was being talked about or to be spoken to and then receive strange looks when I said," sorry I only know English". Since we have taken a Zulu course we are glad to be able to communicate the basics and have at least a few words that we can pick out to get the gist of different conversations! That is exciting progress! We would however like to get more practice and are looking into doing a homestay to accomplish this.
Finding a Church is hard especially when we would love to be in a diverse church that is actually pursuing reconciliation. We are still searching and at times are weary and miss our home church communities very much. It seems like many people we know have the same struggle in finding a church that is diverse and has solid teaching. We know God has a place for us, we are just still looking for it.
When I look back on what has happened so far I see a lot of wrestling, questions, a few exciting things and still a lot of questions. Eight months seems like a long time but we are still so new and learning a lot.
Funding Update: We continue to be incredibly grateful for your financial support and prayers. As economically the times are hard, we feel privileged to be your hands and feet in Africa. Thank You. If you are aware of anyone who would like to know about our ministry, please be in contact. We need to raise an $200 a month to meet our budget.
We covert your prayers! Blessings, Chrissy for the Davies
No comments:
Post a Comment