Where to start I can hardly decide. South Africa flew by in an incredible array of colors and so much has happened in barely four weeks it’s crazy to think about… but there’s a theme. Every high point in our ministry was marked by one thing: prayer. Every powerful testimony from outreach or the schools told a story about there being a need or an emptiness, a cry being made to Jesus, and God showing up. But first let me back up and give a bit of an overview of what we did.
Us two boys teams were in Johannesburg, South Africa for the last four weeks (and flew into Atlanta this morning 😱. More about the end of the race coming later). We were partnered with Impact Africa, which is actually a huge ministry and it’s very clear the Lord’s blessing is on that place. There are four (I think) different departments of Impact:
- Outreach (the most evangelistic side that goes out into the slums everyday and shared the Gospel with people.
- Impact Students (Sort of what it sounds like. We show up at different schools, take over a class period, and drop a life lesson tying back to Jesus)
- Jabulani Kids (the after school program we put on on Fridays in a couple different squatter camps for younger kids)
- Impact Baby Rescue (there are roughly 3 abandoned babies a day in Joburg and IBR does what they can to help mothers raise their kids. But there are also two baby homes with about 11 babies each that were abandoned or given up by their parents)
And the girls, in case you were wondering, we’re split between Jeffery’s Bay and Lesotho (the little country landlocked by SA)
As far as our schedule went though, we usually had long full days that left you exhausted but very fulfilled in the Lord. Depending on what we were doing we would leave anytime between 6:30 and 8:30 in the morning, get back around 4-4:30, team time at 5, dinner at 6, curfew at 10. A week or so in, a couple of us also started doing worship and prayer at the fire every night at 8. This time ended up actually being really impactful for me personally – a perfect example of movement of prayer.
Ok
Story Time
The very first week we were there was probably the most impactful weeks of the whole race for me. I’ve never known anyone before and after they encounter the Lord, but this week I saw many many lost souls found and hardened hearts broken under the weight of God’s love. That in and of itself brought on a fulfillment and joy that I’d never known before – it really brought life to the verse in 1 John 1: “And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.” But what happened on Friday was something I’ll never ever forget.
We were doing outreach and this day my group went deep into the camp – deeper than teams usually go. We were walking along and we came across this open house where three dudes were drinking and being pretty rowdy. The five of us are invited in and we sit down between them. They were pretty big talkers, so it wasn’t long before there were three different conversations going on at once. The guy I was talking to was probably the smallest of the three but still was pretty intimidating and loud. I started talking to him about Jesus though, and he asked me, “Have you ever met Jesus?”
“Yes, I have, an—“
“Have you ever seen him?”
“No, I…”
“Then you never met him. I see my ancestors in my dreams and walking in the street at night (not an uncommon thing to hear by the way). I’ve met my ancestors and they are real but Jesus is not real.”
What I say next surprised even me…
“When Jesus was alive and walking on the earth he healed people. He would touch blind eyes and they could see again, and he would heal paralyzed people so they could walk”
“Can you do this?”
“Jesus is alive, and I know that he can”
“My knee… it hurts when I straighten it and when I walk.”
Soon after this we go to pray, and he looks up at Nick who was standing next to him and starts shaking his head. About ten second later though I ask him how it feels, and his face is confused. He starts moving his leg, punching his knee, and later jumping around on it and kicking his friends butts – he couldn’t believe what happened. He first attributed it to magic from America. He said that and my heart broke, but as we were leaving at the very end, we prayed over him one more time, and as were praying for God to reveal himself to him, his eyes closed and he started nodding his head saying, “Yes God, yes God”.
It’s mind-blowing, heart-warming, to watch God just capture someone’s heart. It brings a joy like no other, amplified by the knowledge that heaven’s rejoicing as well. And almost every single time we watched someone’s heart opened to the Lord like this, it was through prayer. The sword of the Spirit. The word of God. It’s both the tip of the spear and the strength of the shield against the attacks of the enemy.
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.”
– Ephesians 6
In Christ,
Jackson
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