We've been back on U.S. soil for exactly a week now, and to be completely honest it's been hard. Don't get me wrong, it's been great to see all of my friends and family again that I missed so much, but for three months in South Africa our main focus was to build strong relationships centered around God and to just completely Immerse yourself into a completely different culture than your used to. I got so close to people in Pretoria, Darling, and my team in such a short period of time and they are some of the strongest and best relationships I have. But that was because those relationships were centered around Christ. If you don't know them and were to meet any of them you would just know that they know Christ. Every word and action they do just bleeds Christ. They all just do Jesus so well.
"So, how was South Africa?" is a question I've been avoiding since I've been back. I don't even know where to begin to explain how it was. I spent three months of my life, like I said, building relationships, learning and growing in so many areas of my life. A response like "it was awesome" just doesn't even begin to do the trip justice. It's hard to explain to someone that hasn't experienced something similar to even begin to describe in a way that they would understand enough to do the trip justice. "So, what did you guys do?" is another hard one. Telling people that you went primarily to build relationships isn't always the answer that they want to hear, but its true that thats what we did. Jesus didn't go around building houses, but he went around spreading the word of God. We did other things like teaching in classes, sharing the gospel, sharing our testimonies, and preaching, but those weren't the main focus of Immersion.
The picture that I've included is of Sandy, Michael, and Drew. The three of these people have impacted my life more than they will ever begin to know. They are selfless. They are faithful. They are wonderful. Michael and Sandy are the first two people that I met when we got to Darling and they were so open and friendly right off the bat. After just a week they already knew me well enough to know if I was having an off day or not and they would just pray over me. They would also sneak me over to their house to shower (which I'm so forever thankful for). Drew was our team leader. But he led by example, not just telling us what to do and watching us do it. He would ask little questions like "how are you doing?" or "how can I be praying for you?" and you knew that he 100% meant it and genuinely wanted to know. I would complain about something and he would just say "well let's pray about it" Drew does Jesus well.
1 John 4:16 "And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them."
Mark 10:45 "For even the Son of God did not come to be served, but to serve."
"So, how was South Africa?" is a question I've been avoiding since I've been back. I don't even know where to begin to explain how it was. I spent three months of my life, like I said, building relationships, learning and growing in so many areas of my life. A response like "it was awesome" just doesn't even begin to do the trip justice. It's hard to explain to someone that hasn't experienced something similar to even begin to describe in a way that they would understand enough to do the trip justice. "So, what did you guys do?" is another hard one. Telling people that you went primarily to build relationships isn't always the answer that they want to hear, but its true that thats what we did. Jesus didn't go around building houses, but he went around spreading the word of God. We did other things like teaching in classes, sharing the gospel, sharing our testimonies, and preaching, but those weren't the main focus of Immersion.
The picture that I've included is of Sandy, Michael, and Drew. The three of these people have impacted my life more than they will ever begin to know. They are selfless. They are faithful. They are wonderful. Michael and Sandy are the first two people that I met when we got to Darling and they were so open and friendly right off the bat. After just a week they already knew me well enough to know if I was having an off day or not and they would just pray over me. They would also sneak me over to their house to shower (which I'm so forever thankful for). Drew was our team leader. But he led by example, not just telling us what to do and watching us do it. He would ask little questions like "how are you doing?" or "how can I be praying for you?" and you knew that he 100% meant it and genuinely wanted to know. I would complain about something and he would just say "well let's pray about it" Drew does Jesus well.
1 John 4:16 "And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them."
Mark 10:45 "For even the Son of God did not come to be served, but to serve."