Nov 30th- Dec 4th
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Living and operating in another country can be difficult at times. This morning was our second venture to the ABSA bank to try and open a savings account. After being assured from our organization that it would only take 10 minutes on Tuesday, we learned that they were pretty particular and that an African 10 minutes can take an hour or so. Regardless, we were told by the banker the exact details and paperwork that it would take to open an account. By the way, they don’t have dual accounts here. I assume that it may have to do with the struggles of divorce, but I am not quite sure. So, after getting all the correct paperwork and waiting in line again, we were denied once more. We really don’t know at this point, if we will ever receive a bank account, so pray for our patience regarding this.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Today was our graduation from our training program! Our theme was “Let the Nations Celebrate.” It was an awesome event. I feel like it truly encompassed our six months as a team. We marched wearing costumes from countries around the world and carrying flags to the song “He Reigns.” Adam was Mexican and I (Jo) was Austrian. A few people shared what God is doing in countries around the world. Then we sang. The speaker talked about 5 rules to thrive in OM and went along with our theme. I think that part the choked up most of our class was the song we sang to the audience to close our program.
If you say go, I will go
If you say stay, I will stay
If you say step out on the water and they say it can't be done,
I'll fix my eyes on you and we will come
Your ways are higher than our ways
And the plans that you have made are good and true
If you call us to the fire, you will not withdrawal your hand
We'll gaze into the flames and look for you
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Today was a big day. We finally decided on an organization to partner with. After talking to a few different people with different organizations, we decided on Action Laborers for the Harvest. This is where we did our inner-city ministry. We will be working with a boys shelter and serving at a coffee house. Adam and I (Jo) are excited about the ministry and moving to the city. It is somewhat of a relief to have this decision made.
Monday, December 1, 2008
If you know me well, you may know that I (Adam) am tentative to ask for prayer regarding safety. I have personally questioned the validity of that prayer in being that as a Christian, God may place us in situations to minister where he has a greater concern than our safety. Regardless of my paradigm, I am now resorting to ask you to pray a prayer of safety for us. We had another robbery. It was the room next door to ours. They stole some money, but the bigger concern was that they lit the carpet on fire when they left. It may just have been for a distraction so they could get away, but we don't know for sure. December is the worst month for crime in South Africa and we have already felt it's affect. Besides the attempt the previous night, we caught a guy the previous week and things have gone missing around our base on numerous occasions. We also had the unfortunate smash n grab incident while we were in Cape Town. So, because of the continual occurrences, I am resorting to ask for prayer about our safety.
Sunday November 30, 2008
Sometimes in life, you get thrown a curveball, but today was one that neither Jo nor I (Adam) expected. While living in community with others, people can tend to get on your nerves or be bothersome to you. We fortunately though consider ourselves very likeable people. One of our teammates feels otherwise. She has been ignoring us and other teammates for weeks and today we finally asked to sit down and talk with her. She said that we were both pushy, selfish, and overbearing people. It really surprised me. Jo and I have tried our best to be sensitive and caring to her individually. We have tried our best to lead well and to influence others while we have been here. We are confident and with validation from many others that we have done a good job. It hurt quite a bit to hear the bitterness and hate, but it was a reminder that Christian living is not always easy and do matter how much you try to love and treat others, some just flat out won’t like you. Actually, it is the first person I can say, that I know doesn’t like me. All in all, it was a good heart check of my leadership and a reminder that we should not seek the approval of men but of God. Sometimes those may come in conflict.
