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The Final Month
Here we are MONTH 11 and the race is coming to an end soon. We are currently serving in Cape Town, South Africa doing a variety of ministry including soccer ministry, college ministry, and volunteering at an orphanage.
Soccer ministry takes place in a poor part of town where the youth are high risk for getting involved in drugs and gangs. It’s really beautiful work because the man who leads it grew up in this neighborhood and understands the challenges these kids face. His goal is to share the word of God with the students while creating an environment where they can grow in their soccer skills and escape the pressures of being on the streets.
The orphanage ministry has looked different than other orphan ministries we have been apart of. We have shifted our focus to ministering to the workers their as they seemed burned out in their work and could use some encouragement.
Cape Town is such a beautiful place to spend our last month and we are truly blessed to be here with the hosts that we have. There are mountains, beaches, penguins, and festivals weekly. It’s a good place to transition because we back to being in a first world country and everything is very westernized. It’s great here, but it’s weird going from a 3rd world nation to 1st world nation in a day. I find myself often overstimulated by the amount of entertainment, food options, and technology. It can be easy to be pessimistic amount about how much excess there is in western world vs. how much poverty there has been where we’ve been traveling for the past year. I’m choosing to stay positive and gracious with western society because the love of God isn’t displayed by condemnation, it is displayed by love. Overall, it’s just gonna take a some getting used to.
I’ll be home soon and I’m excited and grateful to see all of the wonderful people who have been supporting me on this mission trip. I want to here about your lives and what has happened in the past year. I’ve put some thought into how to sum up the year and the fact is I can’t!
Here are some questions to avoid asking- please avoid general/vague questions about the trip:
How was your trip? (That’s like asking you how the last year of your life was)
How was your year?
Did you have fun?
What did you learn?
Here are some questions to ask- just be specific about the nation:
What did you do in Nepal?
What was your favorite food in Thailand?
How was the culture in Zimbabwae?
What was the best adventure you had in Bulgaria?
Who is a person that you connected with in Swaziland?
What did God teach you in Cambodia?
The point is it would be really nice for the both of us if questions are specific to certain nations because each month has highs, lows, adventures, funny moments, lessons ect.
Can’t wait to see you and give you a big Sha Sha hug
Nic, I loved your statements on the do’s and don’ts to ask. That about summed it up. Hope to see you soon. I am sure being home will take a bit of adjustments. You will be unrolling this scroll for the rest of your days. Love ya and looking forward to seeing you. Lets go to work when you get home. God bless you!
Nick – I can’t believe it’s nearly over. I’m looking forward to seeing you next week and hearing firsthand how it was. Your comment about going to South Africa and being overstimulated got me thinking. I would never have thought of South Africa as first world, which really speaks to where you have been this past year and what you have experienced. We are beyond fortunate for the abundance of wealth we were simply born into. Thank you for doing your best over the past year to make the world a better place and impact people’s lives for good. Good advice on the questions but also remember, what you went through was so deeply personal to you and your group, it’s likely very few will be able to relate. Love, Frank
Nick, its such a treat to read of how God has chosen to work through you all in supporting the workers there. To come alongside the ones who are serving and serve them is to lift them up to help them remember why they do what they do and to lift them up to their rightful place as sons and daughters of God. We are super proud of you and the endurance of Christ that you to which you are holding fast. We love you so very much and can hardly wait to see you in just over a week!!