Break Through

May 5^{th, 2013}

I'm happy to say that this past month of April has probably been our most enjoyable month here so far. There have definitely been some major highlights that I would love to share. A couple weekends ago, our church was doing an outreach in the community. More specifically it was a potjie cook-off! You're probably wondering what that means...Nick and I didn't know when we first heard either. It's basically what we would call a stew and you cook the ingredients in an iron pot called a potjie. You're not even supposed to stir it, and once the ingredients are in the pot, they cook for a few hours. We joined a couple in our life-group at the church on that Saturday. We partnered with a ministry called Isaiah House, led by a Zulu guy named Sandile and his wife Abbey, to serve the community where they are located. We had been to this area back in 2011 when we were in Durban and it's called the Valley of 1000 hills. It's absolutely beautiful, and in the valley there are several children who live in poor conditions. There are many who we would classify as orphans, but most are taken care of by relatives or friends. It's almost like everyone in the community is a big family. There were probably 8-10 teams who were cooking that day, and as the stews were cooking many children from the surrounding areas came to play. It was just amazing. I was in heaven that day as I had found a little girl named Lungi who I remembered from our last trip here. Her beauty is just breath-taking. I'm talking you look into her eyes and you see Jesus. For a few hours I just held her hand or picked her up and held her in my arms. There's something so amazing to me about being in the Valley and holding a child—even when there is a language barrier. It's maybe even more powerful when you cannot really communicate because all you can do is hold them and love them. All they want is to be loved, and they don't care if you don't speak their language. It's a beautiful picture of our Heavenly Father's perfect love for us. I don't think I experience His love more than when I'm holding one of these precious children. I left that day with my heart very full of thanksgiving. Once the stews were done cooking, we got to serve all the children who were standing around and there were a lot of children! It was awesome that we got to feed so many people in the community.

Speaking of children, in the last two weeks I have started volunteering at an orphanage called iThemba Lethu for a couple hours on Thursdays. I'm also so thankful for this opportunity because loving on orphans is just a privilege to me. There are two homes who care for these orphans and each home can hold only 6 orphans in each at a time. This Christian organization really is so amazing! These children are blessed to be here, and most of the children are adopted at a young age. Most of the children are newborns to 3 years old, and many of them are sadly abandoned and found in the community before they are taken to iThemba lethu. Volunteering there has been a blessing to me, and has defintely gotten Nick and I interested in starting the adoption process soon. We've known since we've been married that eventually we wanted to adopt, we just weren't sure when. At this point, we are very open and just waiting to see what God wants. But I was very excited to find out that it is possible to adopt from this orphanage from the States! Considering how difficult it is to adopt from South Africa, this was great news to me in case this is where the Lord would have us adopt from.

As far as an update on how the adjustment here is going, I've concluded that while I don't think Nick and I will be able to adjust fully in just a year, I think we are now entering the point where we expect certain things to happen and we are now not surprised by those things. We now see and understand the things that make it difficult for us to work here, and I think we have accepted those things now, which I think is healthy because we are able to really see the parts of the culture here that we love, enjoy and want to take back to the States with us. Ministry this past month for me on campus has really been great. I've had a lot of contact with first year students who are not yet believers but who are seeking, and I think Nick and I have seen more students trust Christ this month than in previous months. Seeing students transformed by the gospel is always exciting. There is nothing like it! It encourages me and reminds me that God is in fact in control, that He can do anything and that He uses broken sinners like me to open people's eyes to the truth. My faith is made so much stronger just by sharing the gospel with students, but I am so, so thankful that I've gotten to actually see students become new creations in Christ and walk alongside them in discipleship. One thing that has probably affected me more this month is just how prevalent false teaching and false gods are in Durban. I've been broken by how many people are in the darkness and how many people who claim Christ are teaching false theology in many churches. Some of the false religions or false teachings include the prosperity gospel (basically, believe in God and He will make you rich), Hinduism, Islam, Shembe, Ancestor worship, and the list goes on. I remember this month feeling so broken for these people but also so thankful to God that He opened my eyes to the truth! Nick and I also did a two week crash course on Muslim evangelism which has been pretty helpful. I've used what I've learned to get into a few conversations with Muslims on campus. Being here definitely makes me more heartfelt when I read God's Word or sing a song about Him being exalted above all gods or about His name being lifted high above any other name. I feel like I've been experiencing Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life on a deeper level.

I also got to speak at our weekly meeting at Howard campus yesterday. I'm not a big fan of public speaking but somehow when I get to teach the Word to a group of people, I find that I really enjoy it. That was only my second time ever giving a talk in front of a group of people, and it was a good experience for me and definitely grew me and stretched me. I'm so thankful to be used by God!

At this point, we only have three full weeks left on campus before the end of the semester. We cannot believe that our time of being on campus is almost half-way over! It has flown by! I'm grateful to God for what He has done not only in the lives of students but also in my heart. May He continue to get the glory, honor and praise that only He deserves!

"Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!...I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations. For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds." Psalm 57:5, 9-10