Turn this heart of stone to a heart of flesh!

First, a flashback to last Friday:
It was an absolute privilege for me to share devotion at the homeless shelter. I went through Psalm 139 but focused on because even darkness is light to God, being honest with him about the darkness in us, confessing to Him the things in our lives, the bad patterns we withhold from other because of guilt or shame. Believing He can cleanse us as we enter an honest relationship with Him.

Tuesday:

As we geared up for our final week, we were blessed Tuesday with a devotion from Don, a member of Living Hope. It was about keeping the unity of the spirit. He put great emphasis on being intentional with one another and the importance that they have a relationship in the Lord. It’s wonderful to provide healthcare, to aid the homeless, have a job creation program, but all of these just bandage the wound of injustice if there is not an eternal hope. Our strength to serve and our efforts must be carried by the Caregiver, the Freedom Offerer. Offering the good news of Jesus and the freedom He can give us on earth as well as in eternity, now that’s what impacts the heart! I am so encouraged that the Living Hope staff sees their need to spend every morning together sharing worship, a devotion and prayer.

Post-devotion, I had the opportunity to go to Masi with Lindsay and take inventory there. Our team split off in pairs to go to different townships, including Red Hill, Capricorn, Ocean View, and Muizenberg. As we accounted for all the items in Living Hope’s possession it allowed our team to explore places we had not spent much time in.

For the afternoon our team was in charge of all the activities at Kid’s Club. Ruthie and I got to lead worship, singing songs that the kids new really well from last year, and I think it sparked some fire in the kids and LSE’s remembering the great worship songs. We acted out a skit from Matthew 13:1-16 where Jesus washes the disciples’ feet, explaining how this reveals Jesus’s servant attitude, with the feet being the dirtiest part of the body. Relating back to sin, Jesus died so that we could permanently be washed. The dirty towel from Jesus washing our feet we showed the kids is replaced with a clean table when God looks at us because of Jesus taking the dirt and grime form our lives, sin, upon himself. What a cool visual! The older youth went into a separate room where Lindsay got to share and reach out to the girls about forgiveness and God being the true love of our lives. We surprised them with T-shirts they got to design saying “I found true love”.

Mark Woodrum gave us the verse for the day: Galatians 5:13 “For you brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve on another.” The bible also reminds us in Corinthians “Everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial; everything is permissible I will not be mastered by anything.” Something to chew on.

Wednesday:

Mike Tally, who directs much of our construction for our mornings, shared the devotion on Wednesday. He opened our eyes to seeing the full picture of the gospel. He suggested two equally important aspects: bring God’s kingdom here on earth as we serve other, and surrendering our life to God, grateful for a future eternity with Him. Luke 4:18-19 reveals His desires for us here on this earth.

Our job at Living Hope was typing up in excel all the inventory we had taken on Monday and Tuesday. With a quicker morning we had more time to prep for leading Kids Club at Overcome. Lindsay and Brianna both had the opportunity to share God’s true love for us and that He is the only true fulfiller for us. Others can bring us joy but that He is the Lover of our souls, the only real satisfier. We acted out Peter denying Jesus three times and shared the importance of laying our lives down for our friends. That by Jesus laying down his life after being rejected shows his sacrificial love and an example of how we are to care for one another.

Our team spent precious time in prayer for Capricorn (today was our last day in that township) and all aspects of Living Way. We all prayed aloud at the same time which filled the room with many pleads to God, believing in his power and his willingness to answers the prayers in our heart. Mark 11:23-24 states “Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe you’ve received it, and it will be yours.” Oh if only we put that much faith into all of our prayers! He is able!

This journey has been challenging and eye-opening, may God continue to lead us in the path He has lit.

Thank you so much for all your prayers, we have felt them move during our stay here, and we are so grateful for all the encouragement

In Him,

Jess

But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength

Hi everyone! Man it's so cold here today, it's like in the upper 60s. Sorry I had to say it =) We had an amazing weekend. Friday we helped at Living Grace, the homeless center. We sang some worship songs and, of course, Jabulani. Jess and Ruthie did the devotions before breakfast and lunch and they did an awesome job. We got to hear different people's stories and testimonies and prayed with them. Saturday we attended the first soccer game held in the new world cup stadium, the energy was contagious. Sunday we went to Capricorn Church and got to see a lot of the kids from kid's club and their families. The message was about not just worshipping God on Sunday morning but constantly, all through the week. I loved the spirit in Capricorn. Everyone is so welcoming and so on fire for God. They have this amazing spirit. After church we spent some time at Living Care, the health care center. I led the devotion and I spoke about the relationship between patience and trusting God. Isaiah 40: 25-31 is just one of the many great examples in the Bible of reasons why and how you can trust God. I know that I'm often pretty impatient and just want to solve the problem and check it off of my list. However, this always isn't consistent with God's plan and He doesn't answer every prayer immediately. We have to look at the ways we can trust Him, and from there we can gain the patience we need while awaiting a decision or going through a hard time.

This week we are leading kid's club both in Overcome Heights and in Capricorn. Today in Overcome we did a skit which told the story of when Jesus washed the disciples feet and how it represents Him washing our sins away. The kids then traced their feet and decorated them on paper that said "Jesus made me clean". They seemed to really enjoy it. A lot of the kids are really opening up to us and sharing their stories. We have really been blessed by getting to know these amazing kids with incredible spirits.

It's really hard to believe that this is our last week in South Africa. God has really blessed us by allowing us this opportunity to serve Him and it has really changed our hearts and opened our eyes. Thank you so much for all of your support and prayers. We love you! =)

Nikki <3