Global Challenge - South Africa
Global Challenge is an initiative by OM where Christians can join a short outreach to communities around the world. In South Africa we host an outreach every year in the July school holidays. This year we will reach out to communities living around Gauteng.
So far we have heard of the drive-thru doctor but now we have another edition. The Pick and Pray! As teams are doing street evangelism they have many opportunities to pray with people. Heather was one such person. While her team was ministering near a shopping centre she met a woman that needed prayer. When she finished praying for her, two more people stood behind her to also receive prayer. When she finished with that next person she opened her eyes again to see two more people join the line! Most of these people were from a Hindu background. We have experienced that both Hindu's and Muslims are very open for prayer and are quite thankful to receive it. Heather's team also had opportunities to visit a Hindu temple and a Mosque and pray with either the priest or the caretakers there.
Please pray for more opportunities to pray together with those who do not know Jesus and that through these encounters they would get to meet Him.
- Please continue to pray for health. Although some of the participants that has been sick is much better, others have fallen sick. Cold evening temperatures in especially the rural areas is not helping.
- Pray for the participants as many of them is faces with death. Two participants has each lost their dad during the outreach and another team sees it eevry day as they work with people infected with HIV/AIDS.
- Pray for perseverance as the team have full schedules and they are getting tired.
Although Esther's team has a lot of ministry opportunities she confided with us that a lot of her ministry might be at home. The team stays with various host families from the church that they are working with. The family that Esther is staying with has a Hindu friend who came to visit the first morning she was there. Showing a lot of interest in what she was doing the Hindu lady started asking a lot of questions about Jesus and Esther had the chance to spend a larrge part of the morning with her and answering her questions. She was even able to give the lady a bible which she eagerly accepted.
Please pray for this Hindu lady as she reads her bible and that she would get to know Jesus.
- Please pray for one of our participants who heard this morning that her father suddenly passed away. She is currently on her way home to be with her family.
- Please pray for health. At least two of the teams have a few sick people and they find it discouraging. Pray that God will heal them, revive their spirits and use them wherever they are.
- Pray for good opportunities to share the Gospel. Some teams are working in very difficult communities. Team 'Afghanistan' is helping to restore one of the communities primary schools as a way to show love and care and hoping it might attract people that normally would be antagonistic.
On Monday afternoon we were shocked to hear that one of our team leaders was taken to the hospital with the fear that she might have contracted Meningitis. The reports we received were a bit sketchy in details but as we understood the doctors were really concerned for her life. As a group we all prayed together for her as part of the main programme at 8:30 PM. Yesterday we received the news that at the exact time we prayed there were a radical turn around in her condition. Further we received the news that all her bloodwork is now clear and she is currently recuperating at such an extent that she might be able to rejoin her team tomorrow as they go into the outreach part of the programme. We serve a great God!
With only a few days left to go to the launch of the Durban Challenge, preparations are moving into high gear. Although the preparation team has been working very hard up to now, the last few days are always a time of tons to do and not enough time to do it in! Most people will start to travel to Durban on Sunday or Monday but some people already started today.
From Monday onwards, just like last year, I will keep you up to date with whats happening on the challenge and bring you the fresh stories as it is happening. I hope this will keep you inspired and praying for us the whole time.
Here is some facts and prayer requests for now:
- We will have slightly over 360 participants this year (hard to know exactly until they show up)
- These participants will be working together with 39 churches and organisations that we are partnering with.
- Most of the teams will be Durban, Pietermaritzburg and surrounding areas.
- In these areas there are many Muslims, Hindus and Animists.
Prayer Requests
- For safe traveling of all the participants
- For the preparation team and their mad dash to get everything right
- For the Holy Spirit to start working in the hearts of the people that our participants will be meeting
- Praise God for the churches and organisations that we are able to partner with!
It's difficult to believe that it is already the end of the outreach. Time certainly has flown by. Many of the teams will be ending their ministry today with special farewell kids parties and spending time with the churches and families that hosted them during the week.
Tomorrow we will all meet together back in George for a final celebration meeting where we will give honor to God for what He has done during this outreach. Afterwards the participants will continue to their respective homes with many new memories and experiences to share.
We are are very excited and thankful for the many churches and organisations with whom we could partner and we know that we can leave the follow-up work in capable hands.
Please pray for safe transport as many have long drives and flights ahead to get back home.
While doing family visits in Oudsthoorn two participants, Shannon (South Africa) and Lyndsey (Ireland), discovered how hard day-to-day life could be for some people. In one of the houses that they were visiting they met an elderly lady that was living in very basic circumstances. This lady was suffering from Tuberculosis with no-one to take care of her. Furthermore the monthly pension stipend that she receives is not sufficient for her to be able to buy medicine to take care of her sickness.
Shannon and Lyndsey was able to spend some time with her and also pray together with her. The next day they also returned to bring her some warm clothing. But it seems so little if you look at the big picture.
There are many people suffering like this and it sometimes feels like we can do so little. Please continue to pray for the many people that are suffering, that God will meet them in their need and that His hope will be established in their lives
"How long have you been working together" was one of the first questions faced by a team working with the Life Community Center in George. People were amazed to hear that this particular team has only known each other for three days. The team has been experiencing a wonderful time with each other but most of all they have connected with the children that they are working with.
Working with children from poor and disadvantaged areas, the team has been able to make a difference in their lives through small but meaningful experiences. Even just smiling at the children really affects their lives. Part of their work is also to help feed about 200 children but instead of making them stand in line to receive their food, they let the children sit down and then serve them the food in an attempt to improve their self-worth and dignity.
The team will also be visiting some other shelters during the rest of the week. Continue to pray for their health as they have been struggling with sickness and also for their contact with the children they are reaching out to.
Up till now the weather has been quite fair with a bit of a chill in the evenings, but today the cold front seems to be moving in. Most of today has been cloudy and drizzly and with that a bit of sickness has poked out its head in the teams. In one team in George, five of the seven members have been hit with flu and in another the person who should be preaching two sermons tomorrow is also down with flu.
Please continue to pray for health and good wather.
Today the big day has arrived as we wrap up the orientation part of the Outeniqua Challenge. From 2pm the 44 teams will be fetched by their churches and start working in the communities. Everyone is quite excited to see what the next 9 days have in store and we will be keeping you up to date with the stories of the individual teams.
OM's slogan is "transforming lives and communities" and we certainly hope that God will use us to do just that in the Southern Cape. Yesterday we learned a lot about the needs in the area. Things like the huge inequality between rich and poor, the abuse that is happening under the youth and within families and even the struggle of finding work in one of the fastest growing cities in the country.
Continue to pray for safety as our participants move out and pray for opportunities to bring the love of God and the hope He gives us, to these communities.
We constantly seem to be a bit behind with the updates. That's just because we have such a busy time here! Organizing workshops, making sure all the teams are ready, taking care of the sick ones. There is a million things to do and not enough time to do it. But we are so appreciative of all the people who have come in to help us. The ones who are making sure the tea times run smoothly, the speakers investing in the lives of the participants and even the more experienced missionaries that are around giving advice and supporting those who are struggling a bit. God has blessed us with an amazing group of people that are very motivated to go out tomorrow and make a difference in George and the surrounding areas.
Please continue to pray for strengh and that the last few hours of the orientation will be a blessing and upliftment to the participants.
This weekend the wheels are starting to move on several cars, busses, trains and airoplanes as our participants make their way to George. Please pray for the extensive travelling that will take place and that everybody will arrive safely and without troubles.
