The Christian life is not by any means all butterflies, rainbows and happiness. But sometimes, God picks us up from the hard times by blessing us with a day filled with His faithfulness... Complete with the butterfly and rainbow package. That day was today.
Monday and Tuesday was a little difficult for me. I miss Georgia, and the enemy has been tempting me to believe that God isn't going to effectively use me this summer. It's so easy to lose trust that our God is a faithful God. Not a kind of faithful God, but a really. faithful. God. I told Jesus that I really want to trust Him, even though it is so hard. Please read about how He encouraged me today.
Every morning we wake up early, eat breakfast, get ready, and meet in the living room by 8:00. We have sharing and prayer time for about thirty minutes followed by breaking up to have our own personal time with God. After that, we always have some form of training; followed by lunch; followed by either hanging out, planning a Bible study, communicating with family, or reading a book! Then, at 2:30, we load up the van and head to campus. This week, we have been packing a lunch and staying in our Res's until 8:00pm. It's been a bit exhausting, but God has been using it.
When we arrive at Zinnia, the first challenge is always getting into the building. Only the residents have a key, so we have to strategically wait to run in after a resident's coming or going. Once we get in, we knock on doors and introduce ourselves. There are twelve floors in Zinnia. We have been working our way down since Friday, and today, we made it all the way through! Not every one answers the door, but we have talked to over twenty girls. We are meeting everyone we can, getting our faces and names out there, and beginning to build relationships. This week we have been inviting people to Bible study. Campus Outreach South Africa has never done ministry in Zinnia, so none of the girls have ever heard of it. We had no idea what to expect to happen at the Bible study. I've been praying all week that God would help me to trust Him with the outcome, even though it is very hard for me. I often think that sharing the Gospel is all up to me. Today, I felt peace that He would provide. The Lord answered my prayer so beautifully.
We got to campus at 3:00 today and went to a room of new girls. There were three of them: Thando, Thulisile, and Ayanda. We had a pleasant conversation with them, followed by Whitney and I giving them an invitation to our Bible study. The conversation was short, and I didn't think they would come. Following that, we went to the room of two girls we met our very first day in the Res last Thursday, Claire and Niria. We had our first spiritual conversation! It was beautiful. We talked about lots of things, one being how crucial it is to spend time with God. I think they are believers. Hopefully our conversation was an encouragement to them as it was to us. (They also gave us delicious coffee... What a sweet bonus!) I've been praying all week to have our first big conversation about Jesus in the dorm rooms. God answered that prayer so faithfully.
At 8:00, Whitney and I went back to Zinnia after some dinner (because of Bible study starting at 9:00, we went home for dinner this time). We met with Nammy (Staff) and Bridget, one of the student leaders for CO here in Pretoria. We talked about the Bible study and how we would all work together to make it happen. We all co-led under the direction of Nammy. We wish to get the girls we meet plugged in with Nammy and the student leaders so that after we come back to the States they will have a place to grow. We had no idea what to expect, but Whitney and I prayed that we would praise God if no one came, if everyone did, or inbetween.
We texted 36 girls that we have met, and invited them.
5 of them came to the Bible study.
Praise Him!! Five girls to the first Bible study there has ever in that building. We prayed for all 36, but God wanted just Came, Adrienne, Namonde, Kyly, and Thulisile to be there. I'm so grateful.
The study was about "investigating Jesus". For example one of the paragraphs in the study we used read: "It is not until a person commits themselves to Jesus through repentance and faith that they actually become a Christian and begin an eternal relationship with Jesus. This investigation is designed to help you personally evaluate Jesus' words and life so that you may personally evaluate your own life."
We talked about how you can't just read the scriptures, go to church, or grow up in a Christian culture. To be a Christian, you have to commit your life to Jesus.
The Lord was glorified tonight! Please pray for Whitney and I, as it is our job to follow up with these girls and talk in more depth. I think that it would be a blessing for you to join me in prayer for the names I mentioned above, or maybe pick just one girl to be praying for.
After the Bible study, I looked at the phone I am using for South Africa and saw a text from Adrienne. It read: "Hi. I just wanted to thank you for introducing me to this wonderful journey to "investigate" God. I really hope to learn a lot from you guys over the next few weeks. Hope you have a lovely evening."
How encouraging. God faithfully answers our prayers. He loves us so very much, and He is worthy of being trusted!!
Today, I learned that deeper than I ever have before.
Blessings,
Kelley
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