It's been a whirlwind of experiences since I arrived here in East London. Staying with Mike, the director of YFC-East London and his wife, Zena has been a wonderful experience. They recently changed their garage to a bed and breakfast place, so I'm staying in one of the rooms by myself. I truly feel blessed and spoiled here. I've had more time to spend in God's presence these past two weeks and God has been speaking to me like crazy and it's awesome!Last week, I went to two schools where they are teaching peer education. The first school I went to I was in three classes. We opened it up for the kids to discuss whatever topic, which opened doors for me to share the gospel with them which was awesome. Praise God! The next day at the second school, I got to share with them about living in the US. I love the questions you get.. Kids are funny. Though this past week was an experience I'll never forget. I spent four days and three nights in a rural Xhosa village.Let me set the scene for you.... I staying in a small house made out of cement that had a metal roof, which leaked sometimes when it rained. The bathroom was an outside toliet and there was no running water. We used the rain water to do everything; cooking, cleaning and bathing. They only had a two burner unit for cooking and no oven. I stayed with Zandi, who works for YFC and grew up in the village, but doesn't live there anymore. We stayed with her brother's family. To make a long story somewhat story.. I learned what is truly going on in South Africa. There was probably about 150 houses/shacks in the village. 23 people within the village have AIDS and I'm sure there's more that don't even know they have AIDS. Zandi graduated with 22 people in her class and only three are still alive the rest of passed away from AIDS (Zandi is a little older than me). But the main experience was seeing how people are trapped in bondage in these villages and they are everywhere in South Africa. Zandi, like many South Africans, believe that you can be a Christian and still be a part of the ancestoral traditions. I experienced it first hand as her mom was preparing African beer for a celebration that was happening at the end of the week. The celebration consisted of inviting people from the community to enjoy the beer as they also placed some in the cow pen for the ancestors to enjoy. I got to be near my first witch doctor, who was present for the celebration, but not there for ceremonial purposes. The night before I had gotten a horrible headache that I couldn't shake.. I was under spiritual attack. I was glad that we were leaving that day. My spirit was wrestling the moment I arrived and Zandi shared her views on religion with me. I was respectful to her family during my time there and am grateful for the experience. God spoke to me BIG time after my time there. 2 Chron. 7:14, where it talks about if my people will pray, seek my face, humble themselves and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and heal their land. That is God's desire for this country. That people will come to know the one true God, realizing they can't worship two. I attended the school in the village for a day and got to spend time time in the gr-r, gr-1 and gr-7 class. I found out that one of the kids in the gr-r class passed away during the time i was on the village. It rained most of the week and she caught the flu and her immune system was too low for her to fight it off and she already was suffering from AIDS. In the end, she didn't make it. My heart broke again. God has used this experience to OPEN my eyes to what is truly going on in the spiritual realm. The headache did pass after Mike, the director from YFC-East London, anointed me with oil and him and his wife, Zena, prayed over me.
These past two weeks have been a great experience for me. On Monday, I leave for Johannesburg, where I'll be spending 10 days there with Lucky. I'll be meeting his family and probably be going back into the prisons where they do team building and lifeskills with the juvenile boys. Please continue to keep me in your prayers. Thank you!
So, what is God saying to you? I'd love to hear. Take Care! Love Ya!
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