Driving on the Left Side...Listening to God...Ministry

Well, it’s been over a month since I arrived in South Africa! Time has truly flown by!! It was going so slowly at first, but now I can’t believe we have been here that long! I still really love being here! It’s crazy to not be at home at times and I miss my family and friends, but this place is definitely starting to feel like home. Probably because we are doing all our own grocery shopping/cooking now and getting around town a lot better. Can you believe I am actually used to driving on the left side of the road/right side of the car???? All the cars here are manual too so I had to get used to shifting with my left hand as well. For some reason, driving here is really fun! :) I am having to get used to crazy birds and animal sounds as well...especially at night. Those are constant reminder that I am not in Alpharetta! :) Being here in general continues to amaze me though, and I praise God that He has allowed me to be apart to take this journey with Him.

I am not sure I even know where to begin sharing. I guess I will update you on our schedule. We are about to finish our first full week since orientation ended. The mornings are dedicated to our “training”. We have discussions about different topics, we are reading a book by Henri Nouwen on Spiritual Directions (which is GREAT!), we have a time to “check-in” and pray together, and talk about spiritual disciplines. The afternoons/late mornings and all day Thursdays, are dedicated to ministry work. The year is broken up into 6 six week learning postures. We are in the listening posture right now. It’s a great time of learning to listen to God, others, and ourselves. I feel a strong need right now to listen to me/my heart…which sometimes feels selfish. But, sometimes I feel like I don’t know my own voice or understand my feelings so how can I hear God’s? I have been meditating a lot on Psalm 139 (it’s a GREAT one! see the link), especially the part that says “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” I know I am not alone in this, but there are definitely times when I tend to focus too much on what I do wrong instead of praising God for the gifts he has given me and focusing on the good. We are creations of God! I keep thinking that if I put myself down, then I am putting down a creation of God. Makes you really think when it’s put that way! :) I am also trying hard to hear God’s voice in all circumstances and really hear what He’s trying to tell me, especially in regards to what ministry I am to be apart of. We all so desire to hear God's voice but do we take the time to listen? It's hard!!!

These past weeks we have been visiting more ministries and hearing more about what they do. I went back to Home of Joy and got to play with the kids. It was a good time, but I am not sure that is where God is leading me. Today, we went back to the Tshwane Leadership Foundation. (Tshwane and Pretoria are the same thing…for some reason they have decided to change the name of the city! How confusing!!!) This is an organization that is working with churches and communities for urban transformation. It’s located downtown in Pretoria (about 20 minutes from us). I really feel God possibly calling me back to this place. They have 2 things I was interested in most. One is called The Potters House which is a shelter for women in crisis…for a variety of reasons like abuse, prostitution, and sex-trafficking. They do a lot of outreach to meet the women who are in need and still living on the streets. The other thing I was interested in was the Lerato House. This is a girls’ home for girls ages 13-18 who are in crisis for the same reasons as the women. They are amazing organizations and I am praying about whether God would have me go back and work with the girls or the women. I would love some prayers of guidance in this area. Where would God have me serve this year??? (we make our full commitments at the end of the listening posture.)

Another great part about today was our last stop on the “tour” of ministries with TLF. It was to Inkululeko Community Centre. It’s basically a day care centre for low-income families. The kids were adorable! When the 8 of us walked through the gates they came running and screaming and jumped into our arms!!! It was hilarious! They kept calling us all teacher and wanted to show us everything! We went inside after a bit of playing and watched them all in their dance classes. So cute!!! Andrew (another apprentice) and I were dancing along with them in one of the classes. That kinda got them all riled up though so I am not sure if the teachers liked it. :)

Interesting Books I am reading right now…or trying to read.
The Celtic Way of Evangelism by George G. Hunter III (great book about living in community...as we are doing...and a main foundational book for NieuCommunities
Spiritual Direction by Henri Nouwen
A long night’s Damage by Eugene de Kock (i might read this one)
Around Africa on My Bicycle by Riaan Manser. I actually just got this one at the store today because it looked really interesting!! This guy rides his bike around the entire continent of Africa! He is from Pretoria…where I am! :)

Well…I will definitely be trying to update more often as this turned out to be quite long. Sorry! Thanks for keeping up with me though! You are all in my prayers!

Much Love,

manda :)