First of all, THANK YOU all for taking the time to keep our team in prayer while in South Africa!!God is doing amazing things there!
Before we left for South Africa, we talked about doing 3 things as a team: 1) Each one, leading on person to Christ, 2) each one, encouraging one student, and 3) getting the vision for what God is doing in South Africa. This was definitely obtainable, but it’s always the “How” that I wonder about. But that’s what makes trusting God interesting.
I think a definite “moment” for me was being about to meet a guy named Jack, a student a Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT). Before we met, he had no interest in hearing anything about Jesus. A few guys who went to the local church (and who happened to live in the same apartment structure as he did) would always invite him to the nearby College Service. His response? He basically wanted nothing to do with it.
Things changed in Jack’s life in June 2010, when his mother suddenly passed away, on her way home from Zimbabwe. Jack never knew his father. in his family, it was always his mother who strongly encouraged him and his brother to get an education. (without an university education, finding a well paying job is nearly impossible; unemployment in the country is about 50%). Jack said that even though his mother didn’t make much, she would always find a way to help her sons pay for school. This left Jack with more questions than answers in life. Over time, he said that he began to grow critical and judgmental.
When we arrived, we spent about 3 days visiting CPUT and the University of Western Cape with some of the church’s student leaders. We also, spent a lot of time getting to know other students. Ultimately, we wanted to invite as many people as we could to an event we were hosting called a “Hawaii Night”, where we could share culture, have fun, hangout, eat food, and get to know some of the students. It eventually turned out that Jack showed up to the Hawaii Night. It was there that I really got to talk to him for the first time.
I shared a bit about myself and Hawaii and he talked about his course of study in Cape Town (Engineering). By the end of the night, I asked him if he could make it to the College Church Service the next day. He said ‘Yes’. (At the time, I had no idea that people had been inviting him to services for quite some time, but he never was interested…this (unbeknownst to me) was HUGE!.
So as soon as I arrived to Service, the next day, I immediately saw Jack walking down the hall! Yes!! He was pretty excited to be there. It turns out that Kalae shared a great message during service about how much God loves us despite our shortcomings. And following the message, Jack made a decision to commit his life to Christ…no more running. Immediately following the service, one of the student leaders, Sergio, spent some time talking to him about what it really means to follow Christ.
A couple days later, I had chance to have lunch with Jack. This was the last time that I would see him during the trip. He basically shared how grateful he was that the team came from Hawaii. I told him that it was such a huge encouragemnt to us to get to know him. As we talked, it felt like we really knew each other a while, even though we just met a few days ago. This was defintely the “God-moment” for me. I think God reminded that his desire is to set the “solitary” in to families. (Ps. 68) God is a God who works through Communities of people just so that even one person, like Jack, can come to know HIM. Everyone counts.
I think God has changed my life, by reminding me of how great His love is for people. It’s God’s desire that whether you are in Hawaii, Mongolia, Japan, South Africa, etc. that no one would live their life apart from Him. (2 Peter 3:9). It actually reminded me about how my life was before I knew God, and how much joy I had in really knowing Jesus Christ. I think we all have people like “Jack” in our lives, and we don’t have to travel halfway around the world to find them. I think what I am left with is a stronger resolve to continue to do what the Bible says to do…make disciples. Why? Because everyone counts.
