As light amidst the darkness we went out with our hearts excited to apply what we learned the previous 4 weeks. We all got into a bus ready for some of the most beautiful but also spiritually dark places in South Africa. Two weeks of hard labor and great ministry opportunities laid ahead of us!
Our Distant Islands team
All our journey groups went to Coffee Bay and Canzibe. The first week we went to Coffee Bay where we served at a Christian primary school. The school was on the top of a hill and it overlooked the whole community and the sea. The Coffee Bay community is known for its beauty. It is also a place where many tourists and South Africans escape to for the purpose of abusing drugs, which is so readily available and inexpensive. We were offered
drugs on many occasions and there was a spiritual darkness in the air. Amidst the darkness we were blessed so much when we met Judy. She shared a message with us that the Lord put on her heart at that moment. She said that we as humans has nothing good that lives in our flesh, but the only way that we could be like Jesus is by letting Him live through us. She wanted us to serve at her school, only if it was God working through us and not us trying to be good Christians. This was exactly the teaching we received 3 days before in Jeffreysbay. I knew that God had His hand upon us. We as Distant Islands team had the opportunity to fill up and paint the walls, reorganize the house and fix Judy's roof. The repairs went very well and we also worked well together as a team. The other teams were also busy with different projects such as laying a floor, putting on a new roof for a classroom and setting up a fence. Every day was hard and dirty work but God motivated and did the work through us, so it was a joy!
Some of our tents did not make it through the strong winds in Coffee Bay
One Sunday afternoon we had some off time. Werner (A very good friend of mine) and I went and sat on a piece of wood next to a small shop. As we were talking about God, a few young local guys came and sat next to us. We had a few interesting conversations about the abuse of drugs and finding meaning in life. Later more and more people joined the conversation and some left. God was sending people to us and although we had off time we were busy with ministry. This ministry was so sweet because no one told us to do this but it was God who wanted to work through us. After a few hours my friend and I were amazed and this work that God did and we walked away knowing that seeds of faith and change were planted in their lives. It is really true that if you have time and are open to Jesus that He will come and do great works
through you. This is the biggest thing that I learned this year and that I am still learning more about it: 'Not I who live, but Christ who lives through me', 'There is not a change of my old sinful person, but an exchange of my old live and the life of Christ'. I hope to still write a blog this year regarding this teaching that we have received.
The next week we all went to Canzibe which is also in the Transkei, close to Umtata. We camped at a Christian mission station and served under a missionary. We had the opportunity to go out for a few days into the community to do a survey. We went from hut to hut on the beautiful mountains. We were welcomed by the Xhosas and invited into their homes. They were very hospitable and open towards us. The survey was to find out more about the religion of the people. We found that although most people were Christians they still worshipped forefathers. Many times they were open towards us so that we could share what the Bible says about the worship of forefathers.
We took turns in speaking to them and with gentleness God led us in our conversations. This was also great opportunities for us to share the Gospel with people who never heard of Jesus before.
Talking and ministering to a few Xhosa women in a hut
Our sweet time in Canzibe came to an end and when we arrived in Umtata we received an envelope with a challenge. We were overwhelmed with excitement because of heap of tasks we had to complete. We had to buy a live chicken, catch a pig, share the Gospel with people, raise funds, travel 700 kilometers and much more... We started in a town called Umtata, but while we were there, there was a crime spree. The local women called the police department and soon two Police vans arrived. They said that it was too unsafe for us to exit the building where we took refuge. They arranged taxis to take us to the nearest village where we could go and complete a few tasks. What a nerve
chilling start that was! After a few hours of completing tasks we boarded a bus to Port Elizabeth. The bus driver was kind enough to take us even further and dropped us off in Jeffreys Bay. The challenge ended the next day. All the teams had many stories and as usual the Global Challenge leaders, who challenged against us, won.
We smelled like pig for a few days after catching this screaming bundle of bacon
We had a great time reaching out for 2 weeks and it formed a very important part of our year. We experienced the joy of seeing God's Kingdom spread by Jesus through us, which made problems like the language barrier and not living with a lot of luxury of seem small.
We are at the moment in Kingston, Jamaica. God is really blessing us a lot in areas of food, accommodation and putting great contacts across our path.
Blessings!
Albie
My email is: Albie.legrange@hotmail.
com