Final Days

Hi Everyone,

 I just want to take this opportunity to update you all briefly about what has been happening here in Africa over the past two weeks and what I will be doing the rest of my time here.

MINISTRY

*Our time here in Africa is quickly coming to a close; the students are finishing up their final exams and heading home this week.

*We had very successful men’s and women’s events last Friday night full of fun, games, and talks from Kristin and Phil. The girls came over to The Butterfly (our guest house) and the guys went over to 9 Surbiton (the staff guys’ house).

* We have been facing some barriers along the way, but recruitment for the Joint Winter Conference (JWC) has been going well. The JWC is a great way for students who are investigating, to come learn more about who Christ is and get connected to the Campus Outreach Staff. This is our last week for recruiting the students to this significant event and critical follow up by the staff as our team leaves this continent.

*We have been privileged to see 11 students (guys & girls) make professions of faith at UJ-Bunting during our time here.

TEAM

*Last weekend we visited a local orphanage, which broke my heart. We also visited Soweto, where Nelson Mandela’s house is located, and we attended a local rugby match in the extremely sketchy downtown Jo’burg. They don’t have overtime in rugby…I don’t get it!

*We just completed a ‘Week of Woo’ for the 3 guys that are on the team. We planned a whole week of encouragement for the guys to show our appreciation for them and all that they have done to love, serve, and care for all 9 of us girls during our time here. They are amazing!

*We returned late last night from an amazing weekend away in Swaziland. We attended the wedding of a couple who came to know Christ through Campus Outreach. This couple is now making a significant impact in the city of Johannesburg.  Such a great picture of the gospel and the mission statement of Campus Outreach.

 *Sadly, we will be packing up our things here at the Butterfly on Thursday. This place has become our home away from home and Judy has been an amazing housekeeper and dear friend to us all.

*Our last day on campus is Wednesday June 22^nd.  We are heading to the JWC on Friday June 24th until Sunday June26^th.

* After the JWC we will spend a few days building a house and doing VBS for kids in a township close to the camp.

*Our final days in Africa will be spent on a Safari in Kruger National Park and then we will fly out of Johannesburg on July 3^rd sometime in the evening.

PERSONALLY

There are definitely things about America that I miss like my family, friends, grandma’s southern cookin’, Chick-fil-A, free parking, normal houses with no walls/fences, filtered coffee, and sweet tea. I could go on forever but the more that I have been here the more I have been thinking about what Scripture says in Isaiah 6:8, And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “whom shall I send, and who will go for us?”

I want to be a woman who lays down the small dreams of my life and takes up the large world changing Christ centered dream that God has given to all believers in His Word. The Great Commission.

After visiting the orphanage last weekend, if God blesses me with a husband I definitely want to be open to adoption.  I can’t describe to you what that experience was like. Typical me…I cried the whole time I was playing with the little tots.

This past week something that I’ve been seeing more and more here is the overwhelming amount of poverty and disease in Africa. Elaine (a student) shared with me that 73% of the students at UJ-Bunting (which is all of 2,000 students….maybe) are HIV positive. Not only that, but on every street corner there are at least 2-3 beggars. Occasionally, we pass by a park with TONS of homeless people scattered around sleeping. My heart breaks for this situation, there is nothing I can do about it, and it frustrates me. May God send out laborers into His harvest.

-L

Prayer Requests:

-JWC: final recruitment, speakers, open hearts among the students

-Final Days in Africa and for safe travel home

-Kabello, Fortunate, Patience, and Fresh- women that  recently gave their lives to Christ.

-Need for a full time staff girl at UJ-Bunting

Video

week 3: Pursuit of Hearts

Hey Friends,

WOW!  There’s so much to update you guys about! After a very challenging week 2 weeks ago this past week proved to be extremely fruitful.  The Lord is continuing to show me His faithfulness and commitment to His people!!

I can’t believe how privileged I am to be here in Africa sharing my faith! This past week Sarah and I had the opportunity to share the gospel with three girls, Kabello, Nicole, and Fortunate.  Kabello saw us on campus and randomly stopped us to tell us that she knew that she wasn’t living her life the way God would desire her to and wanted to know more about Him.  I knew then that we needed to talk to this girl and dive into more of what she meant by that statement.  We met with her the next day and when I asked her if she had a Bible, she did and come to find out it’s written in her home language! She read Romans 6:23 in her Bible and then she interpreted what the verse said in English. When I read my version, she was so amazed that it said the same thing. When calling Kabello to make a decision about repenting from sin and believing in Christ she humbly said, “I’m living for myself and I have not yet entered into a personal relationship with Christ; I can’t believe that Jesus could really forgive me for all of my past.” We prayed for her and that God would continue to move in her heart and show her His Divine Love  and how Jesus, who knew no sin, became sin for her and paid the penalty for her sin and through repentance and faith when God looks on her He would see the righteousness of His perfect Son.  (2 Cor 5:21)

We then met with Nicole, which was a challenge in itself.  Nicole is not very outgoing and is  extremely quiet.  Unfortunately, she doesn’t seem to have very many friends either. Sarah and I were just planning on following up with her after Bible Study on Thursday, but  for some reason this girl had been on my heart. We ended up sharing the gospel over again with her, which was so worth it and a great reminder of our continuous need to hear the gospel ourselves. Nicole understood what we were sharing with her however she had lots of  questions concerning sin after entering into a personal relationship with Christ. After  almost a 2 hour conversation and diving into more Scripture with her she said “I need to repent from my sin and trust Christ now”.  Sarah prayed for her and then Nicole prayed to receive Christ in her home language! Next to becoming a believer myself, that was THE most powerful moment in my life!!!  Nicole didn’t have a Bible and when we gave her one, she lit up! She was so excited to have her own personal copy of the Word!

Another quick story, there is a girl named Tsakani (Tah-Connie) who we really wanted to get to know better and press in on what it meant for her to have a personal relationship with Christ, because like most South Africans, she claimed to be a Christian. We found out that Tsakani had went home, however her roommate Fortunate, who we had marked off as totally not spiritually interested began sparking up conversation with Sarah and I. After sharing the gospel with Fortunate she still wanted to investigate who this Jesus is. We promised we would continue to investigate with her and show her more of who Christ is and says He is. Fortunate didn’t have a Bible and when we gave her one , she also became ecstatic. We have set up a time already this week to share a couple of claims that Christ makes about himself.

                It’s all beginning to make sense, God’s heart REALLY is for the every tribe, tongue, and nation!! (Rev. 5:9) This week I’ve really seen how God really does pursue the hearts of His people. People who we checked off our list to talk to, ended up being the exact people who God had been dealing with and drawing to Himself. Totally proves that I am not in control. My prayer is that I would decrease and get the heck out of the way so that He may increase and receive all the glory! (John 3:30)

p.s. Today, Sarah and I shared with a girl named Patience, who we met at our Friday night Braai (cookout) that we hosted. One of the first-year students, Elaine, invited Patience and has been sharing with her for a while about what God has done in her life. Elaine came up to Sarah and I on Friday saying that Patience wanted to become a Christian. Sarah and I both looked at each other a little perplexed and told Elaine we would definitely talk to Patience. When we stopped by her room today we were just planning on getting some informal time with her and knew that we were going to try and figure out where she was spiritually. When we shared the gospel with her she was immediately receptive and wanted to surrender her life completely to Christ, understanding the cost and everything!

What many people don’t know about our team is that we spend Monday’s fasting- in preparation for the week ahead, resting in the Lord, and trusting God to do BIG things during the week ahead. A passage that I have been meditating on during this time is the passage in John 4: 34-38. Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. Do you not say, “There are yet four months, then comes the harvest?” Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying hold true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”

I have totally experienced what it means to reap that for which I did not labor and how amazing it is to rejoice with Elaine and Christ as  the sowers and Sarah and I as the reapers!

Prayer Requests:

-Kabello and Fortunate: that God would draw them to Himself and they would come to saving faith in Christ this week!

-recruitment  & funding for the JWC (THIS IS A BIG DEAL! PRAY FOR IT! J )

-6 souls that came to Christ this past week; follow up with them and connecting them to the local church

-Team: unity among our team  & $5,000 more support for the replacement of our stolen vehicle

-Me: Beginning the process for clarity of future plans

In Him,

Lauren 

week 2

Hello from Africa,

As I sit here writing this I feel humbled and just... aware, I guess is the word to use.  This week as I’ve been studying Acts it has become very evident that the early church spent tons of time together in prayer, studying the Word, fellowship, and worship; most of which was done in homes around the town. Honestly, I feel  like that has been the theme of this past week here in South Africa. Bare with me as I try to unfold my experiences…

This was our first full week on campus and doing ministry and overall it went well! My ministry partner Sarah and I challenged ourselves to meet girls on the 3^rd and 4^th floors of Panorama (a girls’ dorm).  These are 2 floors where Nammy (CO Staff girl) has been unable to get touches with any girls all year. Thankfully, we were able to meet first year students on those floors which was a win and some of those girls even attended our Bible Study that we held on Thursday night. We studied John 8 about the Adulterous woman and shared the bridge diagram with about 10 girls. After the Study, a girl named Tato, who has been on my heart, pulled me away  and told me how she was really needed time to process what she had just heard and wanted to talk with me and Sarah soon about how to study Scripture and apply what she had just heard!!! Finally, someone who is SPIRITUALLY INTERESTED! We had a long chat last Sunday during our ministry training about the difference between “exposed and “spiritually interested” individuals. Unfortunately, I don’t have the time to go in depth about each of those but know that Tato is an answered prayer already!

 I was really surprised coming to South Africa and finding about that about 75% of this country proclaims to be Christian. However, most of that percentage has yet to enter into a personal relationship with Christ . This information takes me back to the statistics in the States;  most of America would say that they know Christ and are Christians. Who knows, they might be, but if we think about this statement maybe it will change your mind about those who proclaim to be Christians around you… “If you truly believe what you say you believe, then your life will reflect it”. There is a price to following Christ and many people aren’t willing to forsake all of the things of this world to follow Christ.  In Christ there is FULL satisfaction- the things of this world will NOT satisfy no matter how appealing they are.

An another note,  when we come back from campus each night we have “Family Time” During family time we share how our time was on campus and go over logistics for the next day. This past Thursday after sharing how all of our Bible Studies went Doug said he had something to share with our team that wasn’t so good news…

By the time you are reading this, you might have seen news coverage about a guy named Matt Hill. Matt is from Charlotte, NC and is on staff with Campus Outreach in Washington, DC. On Tuesday morning he went missing after dropping a student off in Chinatown. There is no word yet about where he is or what has happened. I URGE you to be in prayer for him, his family, the search party, legal aspects, friends, and staff team! I am trusting and believing that the Lord is sovereign and as Romans 8:28 states “ And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”  If you have any connections in the DC area please contact me so I can get that information to the staff in DC so that we can #findmatthill.

Also this week, several of the girls had extreme nightmares, Noa (Doug & Kait’s daughter) got the flu, and our vehicle was stolen from in front our house during the middle of the day within a 45 minute time span. We got word that the tracker unit was found (device inside of our car) but that our car was not found. So, as of right now we are carless and are relying on the COJ staff team for transport.

I mentioned earlier in my post that I feel “aware”.  I am aware of the Sovereignty of God. I am aware of how I  am not in control of my life. I am aware that I can’t convert someone to Christ, but that I must be faithful to share and give my life away.  I am aware that as a believer I am under attack and spiritual warfare is present. In all of this, I am believing that Christ has overcome the world.  

Personally, I am kind of in a rut. I’m not sure what it is. I think I am needing some alone time- ha! But seriously…

Tomorrow is our Sabbath, so be praying that I will truly be able to rest in the Lord and that He would continue to reveal more of His promises to me.

 The Lord has really began to build unity within our team this past week too through studying Acts, worship, ministry, living together, and prayer. We have spent a lot of time in prayer over the things have just mentioned and I would love to invite you into that as well.

Prayer Requests:

1)      Matt Hill

2)      Tato- figuring out where she is spiritually

3)      Recruitment to the JWC

4)      My personal time with the Lord

5)      Ministry in general

6)      CCP team unity

7)      SBP- the students arrived in Myrtle Beach this past week. Be praying for them this summer!

HELLO FROM SOUTH AFRICA

Hey Everyone!!!! 

I'm sitting at in internet cafe, so I don't have much time but I definitely wanted to give you a quick update about everything going on so far in South Africa!!

Just wanted to let you know that my team and I arrived safely in Johannesburg, South Africa after a VERY LONG 21 hour flight on Tuesday, May 17th!  Thankfully, ALL of our luggage arrived WITH us and we were welcomed with a very warm greeting by the Campus Outreach –Johannesburg (COJ)  Staff who drove us safely to our little bungalow called The Butterfly.

The weather here is really nice during the day but very chilly in the early morning and evening. It has been really interesting getting accustomed to driving on the opposite side of the road, the Rand (their form of money), the 6 hour time difference, the food, and the new lingo ! We have already had some interesting encounters driving on the streets…I’m not going to share the details, but let’s just say I’ve been somewhat scared! Ha! You can pray for Wil & Casey (2 of my friends on the CCP) who are driving us around in a 10 passenger Quantum. (This is training wheels for our 14 passenger vehicle we should be getting soon. ) Also, I learned to play Rugby with the rest of the CCP team which was a lot of fun and good exercise!

During the past 3 days we have been gettting oriented to UJ-Bunting and to the culture of South Africa by the COJ Staff, which has been extremely helpful!!! I am so thankful that we haven’t wasted any time getting on the campus of UJ-Bunting! We have already become great friends with the campus security guard, Simon (which is a HUGE answer to prayer) However, some of us girls have struggled getting into Panorama (a women’s dorm).  On Wednesday,  we spent time with the student leaders in praying for the campus; they are very young believers themselves, yet their passion for the Gospel to go forth on their campus is so challenging!  Wednesday night we also went to the CO weekly meeting called “LeLife” which was surprisingly  successful! Having stepped onto the campus only  two hours before, we were able to meet tons of girls who came with us! My ministry partner’s name is Sarah- she goes to Virginia Tech and is amazing! We have the privilege of serving on the first 5 floors of Panorama and on Thursday night we  hosted our first Bible Study where 18 girls showed up! These women are so hungry and are searching everywhere  for something to satisfy! There is one student named Lucia, who openly admits that she is not a Christian, but who wants us to host the Bible study in her room from now on!  THAT IS CRAZY!

 It’s only been about 3 days here and I am already seeing how BIG God REALLY is compared to my small view of the power of God. God is moving at UJ-Bunting!  I am beginning to gain an understanding for what it means for ministry to be food. (John 4:34)  

On another note,  there are 11+ official languages in South Africa and these students  speak 5+ languages fluently! For example, when a group of them are conversing they will each be speaking a different language and understand every single word, no joke. Ha! Also, their names are VERY difficult to say much less remember. I really want these women to know how much I care for them, so please pray for grace to remember their names.

Things to Pray for:

1.       Panorama & Horison (2 Women’s res) & Majuba (Men’s Res) and the students that are in them. Please pray for receptive hearts & boldness to share the Gospel.

2.       1 Corinthians 2:2 – that I would know nothing except Christ Jesus and him crucified.

3.       Living with 15 other people can propose its challenges, so pray for unity among our team and that I would personally sacrifice for my team and grow in service to others.

4.       The women that I will be ministering to in Panorama- pray that these girls would open up and that they would be willing to go deeper, beyond surface level “chit chat” as I desire to share my life with them.  Pray that they would come to the Fountain of LIVING WATER, the only One who can satisfy and give life! (John 10:10, John 4:13-14)

5.       Sarah & Me- our ministry partnership.  Remembering the names of these girls!

LOVE & MISS YOU.

-Lauren

It's TOMORROW!

I'm currently sitting at the Holiday Inn in Lynchburg, VA with my precious family and am just thinking about the fact that umm I will be on a plane to AFRICA TOMORROW! We traveled to Lynchburg this afternoon for a "send off and commission" at Rivermont Evangelical Presbyterian Church tonight, which was awesome! Afterwards the family and I went out on a little adventure to find some AMERICAN food :) We ended up at the really great restaurant called the Depot Grill, SO GOOD!

Can I just tell you that...I can't believe that IT'S TOMORROW!

I literally will be getting up and heading to the airport to embark on one of the greatest adventures and completely life changing experiences of my life! 

Thank you to all of my friends, family, supporters, and church family that have given so generously the advancing the Kingdom of God! 

I encourage you to please follow my blog and to check it frequently for weekly updates (hopefully!) :)

LOVE YOU!!!!
-L

Counting Down

It's crunch time with finals. 7 down, 1 to go!
This weekend I will be busy packing and spending time with some family members before leaving North Carolina on Sunday afternoon where my dad and I will travel to Lynchburg, VA for our team send off. Our team will then travel to Washington, DC around 10 am to board our 5:55pm flight at Dulles Airport via KLM airlines on Monday.

I also want to take this time to give a BIG THANK YOU to my church family at Hickory Grove. Their support throughout this whole process of support raising and preparing for Africa has been unbelievable!! Two Weeks ago hundreds of women from HGBC gathered around Morgan, Kim, and myself and prayed over us. Last Sunday the College & Career Sunday School Class did the same thing! Such a great picture of The Church!  I have never felt so loved and cared for by a church family in my life. To GOD be the Glory, I am so blessed to be part of this local church body.

Prayer Requests:
1) Focus for this LAST exam
2) Pray that I would find REST and meet intimately with the Lord!  Right now I am extremely anxious. Anxious about packing up my dorm, unpacking at my house, re-packing for Africa. I am anxious about the fact that my to-do list is more than a mile long, spending last minute time with family and friends, about traveling 21 hours, about going to AFRICA! Pray that I would cast all my burdens and cares on the Lord and find my rest in Him!
3) Safe Travel- to Lynchburg, VA and then to Africa. I will get to Africa at 3:20pm (our time) on Tuesday May 17th, which will be 9:20pm South African time.
4) Jet Lag and ENERGY!

It's REALLY Happening!

I'm going to AFRICA!!!

THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT!

<3 L