We finished our week on campus just hours ago and our first week here was far greater than I could have ever imagined. In four days 9 students accepted Christ- five just today! We are all just in awe of what God is doing. I got to pray with one guy, Sifiso at the end of the day. He was so eager to have a relationship with Christ that I couldn't talk through the 4 Laws fast enough for him- he kept flipping ahead of me in the booklet. Going into today we were all just exhausted and rally struggling to have some of the same frustrating conversations over and over again. When we all got back together at the day's end it was amazing to hear all the stories.
Tomorrow we will go to the beach for the first time and then go to a rugby match (which I'm pumped about!). Sunday we will do church and have some down time. Pray that God will continue this work next week. We now have lots of follow up appoinments and want to contiue meeting new students as well. We need your prayers!!
Hopefully this weekend I'll have time for a more detailed account of all that has been going on. God bless and continue to pray for the University of KwaZulu-Natal!
Friday, May 16, 2008
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Update!
I have a bit longer today so I just want to give you a crash course of all that is going on:
1) The city: it's beautiful! Mountains and the ocean only 1 km away from each other. When we come home from campus everyday we come over the last mountain range and can see for miles out to sea. It's really awesome.
2) The univerity: it's very diverse and there are lots of Indian students which we did not expect. I've spent more time talking to Hindus than native Africans or whites. In fact there are very few whites at this campus- I've only talked to one. It is mostly a commuter campus for students from Durban so we hand out there basically all day and then leave in the late afternoon when the students go home.
3) Our team: we are having a blast together. We are pretty small (only 18 students) so people have gotten to know each other pretty well. There are only 7 guys and we've already bonded pretty tight as well all live in one room! Which leads to...
4) Accomodations: The place is fine but there are currently 11 of us sharing one shower every morning and like I said, seven guys in one large bedroom. We are fine with it now, just pray that we can maintain good attitudes and not get on each other's nerves. And most importantly...
5) Ministry: we have spent two whole day meeting students,getting to know them and sharing the gospel. Yesterday one student accepted Christ! We have had lots of other great conversation and have follow up appointments with about 20 students over the next two days. Please continue to pray for students to accept Christ and that he would raise up the Christians already on campus to be student leaders for Crusade and carry on whatever we can begin.
I must go now, but thank you for all your prayers- I get to watch them at work every day! Hope to update again soon!
1) The city: it's beautiful! Mountains and the ocean only 1 km away from each other. When we come home from campus everyday we come over the last mountain range and can see for miles out to sea. It's really awesome.
2) The univerity: it's very diverse and there are lots of Indian students which we did not expect. I've spent more time talking to Hindus than native Africans or whites. In fact there are very few whites at this campus- I've only talked to one. It is mostly a commuter campus for students from Durban so we hand out there basically all day and then leave in the late afternoon when the students go home.
3) Our team: we are having a blast together. We are pretty small (only 18 students) so people have gotten to know each other pretty well. There are only 7 guys and we've already bonded pretty tight as well all live in one room! Which leads to...
4) Accomodations: The place is fine but there are currently 11 of us sharing one shower every morning and like I said, seven guys in one large bedroom. We are fine with it now, just pray that we can maintain good attitudes and not get on each other's nerves. And most importantly...
5) Ministry: we have spent two whole day meeting students,getting to know them and sharing the gospel. Yesterday one student accepted Christ! We have had lots of other great conversation and have follow up appointments with about 20 students over the next two days. Please continue to pray for students to accept Christ and that he would raise up the Christians already on campus to be student leaders for Crusade and carry on whatever we can begin.
I must go now, but thank you for all your prayers- I get to watch them at work every day! Hope to update again soon!
Monday, May 12, 2008
We made it!
Just have a minute here but, we made it after a mere 30 hours of traveling. we are adjused pretty well so far. After a brief orientation at a local church we spent a few hours on campus today, meeting some students and finding our way around. It is a lot like US campuses and VERY pretty. Views from the mountains down to the ocean that are awesome. Please continue to pray and i'll give a more exteneded update soon.
Friday, May 9, 2008
The trip has started... kind of
Well in some ways I now feel a day into my trip. But we are still in Atlanta. We met today at a hotel near the airport for a briefing before we go. We spent a few hours thisn afternoon in meetings about all different stuff and then a few hours after dinner in our small groups getting to know one another better. I'm really excited about my small group. Our leader is Troy Coons, the trip director. He lived in South Africa for five years as a kid and has worked all over the world with Crusade. Also in my group, Andrew is a grad student at UGA who God has worked mightily in over the last few years in Athens. And Dan is an upcoming senior at FSU. I am acutally the youngest one of the group, which is unusual for me after leading some small groups in SigEp, but I think there is a lot of wisdom for me to learn from these men. Our group as a wholeis 18 students and 6 staff, a great ratio for us! Our team is mostly UGA kids (11) but Georgia Tech, FSU, UCF, Mississippi St. and Alabama-Huntsville are also represented. We leave the hotel at 6:15 tomorrow morning so I'm headed to bed but pray for what I hope to be the longest travel day(s) of my life tomorrow- over 30 hours from leaving this hotel to our hotel in Durban.
Packed and ready
After two crazy days of errands, packing and good byes all is ready to go. I'll spend the night with our team at a hotel near the airport tomorrow night for a briefing and then we'll be in the air early Sat. morning. Pray that our team clicks well when we all meet tomorrow. With kids from 5 different schools it may be easy for the UGA kids to stick together (we are 11 of the 18 total students). But hopefully everyone will connect quickly. Also pray for travels. We will travel for a total of 28 hours (4 separate flights) and have an 18 hour flight from NYC to South Africa. Should be good time to get to know each other, sleep, hopefully, and read or watch some movies. We'll arrive in Durban Sunday night and then we plan on going to campus for the first time on Monday. Hopefully by Wed. or Thurs. I'll have a good idea of how often I can get on the internet and how well this blog will really work. See you in six weeks!
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Finals over!!
Half the battle of this week (finals) is over as of just a little while ago. I'll be packing up today and heading home for two days before meeting the team on Friday. Please pray that all goes well getting things together and that I feel ready to go in every way when Friday arrives. It's crazy to think I'll be on campus at The University of KwaZulu-Natal in a week!
Friday, May 2, 2008
One week!
The latest from our project leader...
Please continue to pray.
Hey Guys,
ONE week until we meet in Atlanta! You all have done a great job of raising support and it has been encouraging to hear how the Lord has provided. PLEASE post to this group about how the Lord has provided for you! Also, feel free to post about any other prayer requests you have.
Here's a few prayer requests heading into the final week:
1) Rest - I know this is a busy week for some of you, but ask the Lord to give you half a day or so of rest - to connect with him, to relax, and be refreshed. Do something to take your mind off school and the project!
2) Connection with Students: We will go on campus in Durban Monday after we arrive. Pray the Lord will direct us to students who are open to the gospel and that we would be full of faith as we venture out. Col 4:2-6
3) Safety: Be praying the Lord will protect us from spiritual and physical attack in Durban. We for sure will encounter spiritual attack from Satan as he does not want the kingdom to be expanded. Pray for physical safety, that the Lord will protect us while we are in Durban. 1 Peter 5:8
4) Team Unity: Pray we will be unified together as a team, coming from different campuses and stages in life. Pray the Lord will empower us to love one another and serve each other well. Romans 15:5+6
5) Your staff team for project: Pray that the Lord will give us wisdom as we prepare to lead this summer. Colossians 1:9
OUR VISION:
'MOVEMENTS OF STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU-NATAL EXPRESSING THE GOOD NEWS AND GOOD DEEDS OF THE GOSPEL TO THE CAMPUS, COMMUNITY, AND THE WORLD.'
OUR MISSION:
- Building relationships with spiritually interested students by sharing the good news of the gospel;
- Building bridges in the community by expressing the good deeds of the gospel;
- Partnering with CCC Durban by co-laboring with them to spread the fragrance of Christ in the city.
looking forward to co-laboring with you in Durban!
Please continue to pray.
Hey Guys,
ONE week until we meet in Atlanta! You all have done a great job of raising support and it has been encouraging to hear how the Lord has provided. PLEASE post to this group about how the Lord has provided for you! Also, feel free to post about any other prayer requests you have.
Here's a few prayer requests heading into the final week:
1) Rest - I know this is a busy week for some of you, but ask the Lord to give you half a day or so of rest - to connect with him, to relax, and be refreshed. Do something to take your mind off school and the project!
2) Connection with Students: We will go on campus in Durban Monday after we arrive. Pray the Lord will direct us to students who are open to the gospel and that we would be full of faith as we venture out. Col 4:2-6
3) Safety: Be praying the Lord will protect us from spiritual and physical attack in Durban. We for sure will encounter spiritual attack from Satan as he does not want the kingdom to be expanded. Pray for physical safety, that the Lord will protect us while we are in Durban. 1 Peter 5:8
4) Team Unity: Pray we will be unified together as a team, coming from different campuses and stages in life. Pray the Lord will empower us to love one another and serve each other well. Romans 15:5+6
5) Your staff team for project: Pray that the Lord will give us wisdom as we prepare to lead this summer. Colossians 1:9
OUR VISION:
'MOVEMENTS OF STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU-NATAL EXPRESSING THE GOOD NEWS AND GOOD DEEDS OF THE GOSPEL TO THE CAMPUS, COMMUNITY, AND THE WORLD.'
OUR MISSION:
- Building relationships with spiritually interested students by sharing the good news of the gospel;
- Building bridges in the community by expressing the good deeds of the gospel;
- Partnering with CCC Durban by co-laboring with them to spread the fragrance of Christ in the city.
looking forward to co-laboring with you in Durban!
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