sick in the summer

13 February 2010

 

In short:

. Sick

. College Assembly on Substance Abuse

. New Job Elements Added- Evaluator, DAD Newsletter

. Meagan's Youth Group in Ocean View- Revival Church

 

In more detail:

I'm sick. My head cold has expanded to my chest. My voice has dropped 8 octaves and my head feels like it could explode. I'm sweating all the time because of the hot weather and add the feeling of breaking a fever and it's a bit miserable.

I didn't make it to Afternoon Clubs at all this week- early in the week I had meetings, then later in the week I took the afternoons off so I could rest and do some light computer work at home. It's been a hard week physically.

 

On Monday the Teens Team had our first big assembly at False Bay College. The topic: Substance Abuse. Our team planned an ice-breaker quiz game, an awesome video about drug and alcohol abuse and it's effects, a personal testimony from Shannon- a girl that Shagmie knew (her story to come), and a wrap up from one of our leaders, Des.

The morning started off rough- transportation is always the source of tension and add traffic to the picture, and our group showed up to the assembly late. What an impression, right? Oh this culture of no-time but some people hold you to being on time. It's a huge contradiction. Anyway, we recovered nicely, the school was excited we were there and gave us as much time as we needed. There were about 150 students in attendance (ages 18-22). I was so proud of the team for keeping their attention, giving educated information and making an impact. The schools are very open to Life Skills Education and MOST are open to the Gospel. It's a pretty cool set-up!

Shannon's story hit so many of the students there:

Shannon was a pastor's daughter. Her dad began drinking, became abusive, lost his church and ministry. Left his family. [For time's sake, I'm really summarizing] Shannon and her mom struggled for a long time (financially, spiritually, physically). Shannon ended up using drugs, being raped, in and out of relationships just for a 'high', had 'street power' because of her drug reputation. She ended up pregnant with a child she didn't want. Because of her faith background (now greatly suppressed), she couldn't go through with an abortion, but continued using drugs hoping the child would die. The child was born healthy and given the name, Destiny, because obviously the Lord wanted her on this earth. Destiny changed Shannon's life, opened her eyes to the Lord's grace and became a changed woman. Now Shannon is married to a godly man and just gave birth 1 month ago to her son, Zion. I got to hold precious Zion as Shannon challenged the crowd to learn from her experience and understand the true effects of being a user. Getting to know Shannon was an honor. The Teens Team got to pray with her a few times, encouraged her to continue telling her story (which she'd only told 1 other time before we spoke to her) and understand God's healing and freedom in working with what she's been through. It was a beautiful time!

 

I've recently had a few elements added to my job description. John and Avril want me to work on the Dollar-a-Day Newsletter. This newsletter is for those who have contributed to the campaign; it's updating the donors of where their money is going and an update on how the programs are succeeding! It's a fun job. I'm excited to begin hearing the success stories!

The newest addition to my job is one that I'm not so sure about yet. I've been asked by Avril to evaluate all the Teen elements- Clubs and morning outreaches (like the college assemblies). This means that those that I've been working with will now be people I'll be critically evaluating. I'm praying it doesn't hinder my friendships that I'm trying to create. I hope to be absolutely positive and encouraging, but I know there are some improvements and hard conversations that will come along. Please be in prayer for this work.

 

One of the really neat parts of my jobs here is to visit youth groups in the community. Meagan is a leader on the Teens Team at Living Hope. I went to her youth group on Thursday night. I loved seeing a new perspective on youth in South Africa- other than Capricorn. Meagan is the Youth Leader at Revival Church in Ocean View; she was so prepared, had tons of games to get them interacting, and challenged them to know and put on the armor of God (Ephesians).

I'm trying to intentionally build relationships with the community youth leaders and be a resource for them if needed. Please pray that the communities welcome me in and don't take offense to me wanting to observe and learn and help if necessary.

 

Pray for God to give me great encouragement and show me His wisdom! Thank you for your support and prayers.