Much of our South Africa trip was spent walking through Squatter Camps and encountering people. We shared with them, loved them, prayed for them, and encouraged them. I was amazed at the openness of the various people we met. They were willing to listen, to talk, to be prayed over, and to hear of God's unconditional love for them. While we may not have seen every person confess Jesus as Lord, we were able to bring them into tangible contact with His goodness.
The picture that I have shared with you today is one of my favorites from the trip. You will see my lovely wife sharing the gospel with a group of women. It was an amazing time and a great opportunity to impart life. I'm not pictured with her because I was playing with a couple of boys in the background. Laughing, having a good time, and giving her the setting she needed to communicate with these ladies. This may sound odd to some people but I believe that by playing with those boys - when they meet Jesus later in life that He will seem familiar.
Mission work isn't just about verbally sharing the gospel. It's also not just simply giving food or providing a service. Missions is about a gospel lifestyle. It's about re-presenting Christ to the world through every possible means. It's about using relationships to springboard the gospel, providing for needs with no strings attached, or just providing the encouragement someone may need to make it through another day. Wherever we are and whatever we do becomes a part of God's eternal purpose of establishing His rule and reign in the earth.
We were able to do just that:
Walking through a Hospice facility - praying for people with HIV, touching them, sharing with them, and feeding them.
Showing up at a Daycare facility - playing with the kids, washing dishes in the kitchen, taking pictures, and giving hugs.
Going to the Squatter Camps - embracing people who live in extremely poor conditions, talking with them about life, loving their kids, and telling them of God's amazing love.
Working in the medical clinics - trying to ensure people are taken care of, crying with them, praying for them, and sometimes just being there.
Ministering in the local churches - sharing from the Word of God, speaking encouragement to the believers, praying over the pastors, and worshiping together.
All of these experiences - big and small - are a part of a much larger picture. That picture of course is the one that God began painting in the garden. It's a picture of His image bearers in the earth, being fruitful, multiplying, and enlarging the borders of His government. Within this picture are individuals who were willing to sacrifice, willing to leave the comforts of this world, willing to give of themselves, and willing to love God with all of their heart. And when you and I learn to step back from the picture to get a broader view, we discover that the individuals are tied together to form a picture of Christ in the earth. This picture is realized in Ephesians 2:10, "For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago."
Did my visit to South Africa impact my life? YES!
Did my visit to South Africa impact them as well? I believe so. And it is my prayer that the impact will be much greater than what I saw with my own eyes.
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