My Dearest Family and Friends,
I figured that since I have been telling everyone… “Hey, I have a blog, come and look at it… I try to keep it updated as much as I can…” that I should probably give you all something better than a depressing blog that I posted last week. These past few weeks, I have really seen God’s blessing on my life and what I am doing. I can see His work on my life and how much He cares about me through the prayers of all my South African friends, the family I have here, and the family and friends I have at home.
I am happy to tell you all that since last week asking you all to pray for me, God has been giving me so much grace and blessing me with rest and refreshment. Last Sunday when I wrote my blog… thinking I had nothing left to give and feeling like I had defiantly hit the end of my rope… through all your prayers, God gave me the energy and strength that I needed, and more… I feel so rested, as if I had just taken a month off and jumped back into ministry with enough energy to carry on to the end of the trip… and I can’t explain all this energy and rest any other way than to say that God heard my cry, “literally… I did cry… just ask my marmy,” and had grace on me giving me the rest and energy I needed on Monday! It was completely amazing… and I don’t know how else to explain it.
Truly, I have lately been also blessed by the people at home being such an encouragement. I was able to reconnect with a few dear friends of mine at home over the past few weeks, and they have been exactly what I needed. I have found such encouragement in them for all the praying they do for me. Prayer is truly an amazing tool to reconnect with God.
Sadly, my time is so short here, as I probably wrote in my last blog. To the date I write this blog, I have 14 days left of going to Doreens, 4 days left with the FireHouse Youth Group, and a month and a half left with my team-mates. Truly, from my heart… I could again go into a sad state about how much time I have left here… but I really want to honor God and write the blessings I have already felt this semester here in PE.
At Doreens, God has given me 15 beautiful and amazing children, who I love and will truly miss. I have been able to be used in mighty ways by God to be part of their growing process, and be someone in their lives who they can remember loved them and cared for them. For Doreen, someone who listened and cared for her just as much… who even took time to spend the night to give her a break from life. Currently, I am working with another church to get Doreen’s boys a spiritual father figure that will be more dependable than I am able to be, and can continue on the work I have done in growing and maturing these orphans in Christ, someone who will point them towards their Heavenly Father and fill the gaps of abusive and parentless abandonment they have had to deal with in their own lives. I hope that they will someday feel the same love I feel from my heavenly Father.
At FireHouse, God has put me in the lives of so many Youth, to be someone in their lives who cares and loves them… through their messes and accomplishments, someone that will always be there to pray for them and encourage them. I love all the kids there so much. I pray that as I leave, I will have left an impact of someone who truly followed Christ, and who they also saw Christ in me.
Algoa, the place with the disabled Kids, I don’t know if I will ever be back to that place of love. A few weeks ago, God started to release me from that place, allowing me to work more with more of the Churches ministry. However, with the time I was there, God showed me His heart and love for even the most hopeless cases I have ever seen… to get passed the smells, past the disturbing images and see the true child that was in each of the kids, even the ones who will never be able to get out of bed. I pray that God would start and then continue to give those children joy, and I am excited for them… for the time that they can walk in the fullness of God, being able to talk and play in God’s glory like they have never been able to.
My team-mates all the way through have been so amazing. I truly feel loved by them and cared for. Through them, I have really felt the community I feel I have never had, and have grown and still am continuing to grow through them. For the past seven-and-a-half months, I have had to share a bedroom with others… and I have loved every minute of it. Through these amazing guys in my life, I have been filled with the love of guys in my life, like I have never really had in my life before the trip. They have grown me as a man of God.
From my leaders, I have learned and grown so much from the leaders on the trip, especially Matt S. and Tag T. They have both been such great male figures in my life. From Tag, I have been challenges so much more as a person and living out this thing called a Relationship with Jesus Christ, and from Matt, I have seen and learned so much from his example of what a real leader looks like… someone who has been such a personal leader… yet real guy in my life. I love them both, and miss them so much. I don’t think I have truly expressed what they really mean to me.
One of the main focuses of this blog I wanted to make was where I could have been, and where I am now. God is constantly reminding me through little and significant things from the life I wanted to lead so badly last spring, saying, “See Andrew, how much better My plans for your life are?” I know if I had only lived things a little differently in that dream life I wanted so badly I wouldn’t have the joy deep within that God has given me in knowing I am where He wants me to be. As I reflect back on these past months, back on the life I have lived here, “yes, this has been more than a mission trip, it has been my life,” I don’t think now that I would have wanted any differently.
As you know, I will be heading off to Kenya after a few months at home. I have to admit that this is scary for me to yet again be gone for another year… but looking back at the life I have lived here and how blessed I have been by following in God’s plan, I know that I can expect to be equally blessed to give another year of my life to Christ.
Oh my word… this blog again is WAAAAY too long… I will stop it short… but I miss you all… and just about 7 weeks until I am home!!!
Love you all!!!
In Christ,
Andrew
