Ikhaya

The base has a 24 hour prayer going on right now. Not sure if every one's familiar with 24 hour prayer so I'll briefly describe it. Basically people can sign up for a 1 hour slot through out 24 hours and pray whatever God puts on their hearts. The point is that for 24 hours straight, prayer is happening (praying for the nations). In the prayer room is a world map and books with facts on countries and prayer points and stuff. I prayed from 9-10 tonight and loved every minute of it. When you get in that mood and have God's heart for a nation, your heart literally is breaking for them and the areas Satan's lying to them. Prayer changes things and I love it. And I also love the nations... :)

My house here (we call it ikhaya-ikhaya means house) is right in the middle of town, really close to the township...about a 5 minute walk. We're right next to the bus stop. Literally buses come and pull up next to our house. So people are always chillin out on the front porch steps or around the back porch at all hours of the night. There have been a few instances where homeless people walked right into our house (and rooms) from off the street. We even had some street kids come in at night and steal food out of the fridge. But since the start of SBS (March) the only things that have been stolen out of the house has been food. Lesson learned though; now we keep doors locked and actually remember to close doors. The point is, the weekends are way worse. Meaning it's 12:30 am right now and I can hear drunk people shouting outside. Very loud, drunk people that are sitting in the yard.

So while I'm on that topic of loud, drunk people and safety and all that... as soon as it gets dark here, it's not safe for girls to walk anywhere alone...or even two or three of us together. We need a boy. Now, for most people maybe this wouldn't be an issue, but being the independent person that I am, I find it annoying. I mean I understand and all, but it's something I've had to get used to. One of the biggest problems is this: The SBS all lives together in ikhaya. We have classes here and everything. However, the rest of the people on the base and the actual base (where we go for worship and prayer and meals) is a 5 minute walk. Not far at all but if it's dark...you're basically trapped here in ikhaya. And when I say trapped, I mean that pretty literally.

I've been in South Africa for about 7 months now, and I'm pretty adjusted to safety issues and cultural differences. I still find some things here odd. For example: They call traffic lights "robots". Apparently you cannot buy white eggs here...they're all brown and have little feathers and "stuff" (it appears to be poop) on them. *yuck* They have a very different accent that I think sounds very British. You can buy milk out of a carton that DOESN'T get refrigerated and apparently stays "good" for over a year. We eat TONS of rice and potatoes...sometimes meals of only rice and potatoes. There are tons of different things but there's a few.

Anyway I'm going to go get some sleep. Good night guys!

Completely Desperate

This week we've had the most beautiful weather! Literally perfect weather. Almost every moment we're not in class I'm down at the beach doing homework there. Well almost every moment. Today I was studying and listening to some great worship music and watching the waves. The beach is beautiful and kind of rocky. Off in the distance are gorgeous mountains. It's days like today when I realize just how blessed I am. Man, it was a beautiful day.

This is a really busy week. Monday- Wednesday we're studying Colossians. Also on Wednesday we have an exam and an intro to New Testament Greek. Thursday-Saturday we're studying 1 and 2 Thessalonians. So this week will be another crazy week.

Yesterday, after morning lectures, as a class we went to the beach for to do a practical application. Our teacher asked us to write or create something that showed where we're at presently in our relationship with God. Me, being the incredibly creative person that I am, wrote in the sand. :) Everyone else was making cool things out of sand and shells and wood, but not me. I can write...that's about as creative as it gets. Anyway, what God's stirring in my heart right now is really hard to put into words. I'm more desperate for God than I've ever been in my life. I'm starving for something that only God can fill me with. I'm so glad that God's taken me this far, but I wanna go farther. I wanna go deeper. I want incredibly intimate times with God. I think He can always take us deeper. I wanna experience who God is on a daily basis and be changed daily because of how great God is. This is what I wrote in the sand: Desperate. In love. Hungry. Never satisfied. Deeper. I AM... a fire starter. I AM a world changer. I AM a crazy, 21 year old missionary and I will make a difference.

Have a great week guys. I love and miss you tons. Good night.

My Confession...

So, as I wrote in my last blog, this week we're studying the book of Luke. I'm about to make an incredibly honest confession that I'm embarrassed about...here it goes: When God first spoke to me about doing the SBS I was really dreading having to read and study the gospels. Because, in my mind, I'd heard all the stories when I was a kid about how Jesus healed people and cast demons out of people. (Yes, what a horrible thing for a Christian to say...I know, I know! I said this was embarrassing. God's taught me a lot about humility...) Also, I really didn't understand a lot of what Jesus said. I found it all very confusing. Let's fast forward to now. I've read and studied 3 out of the 4 gospels so far. I literally love the gospels. I really enjoyed studying Mark and John a lot, but Luke blew my mind. God has really ministered to my heart through this book. I am actually disappointed that we only have one gospel left (Matthew). I wish there were more gospels.

On that note, last night we saw, "The Passion of the Christ". If you haven't seen it, watch it. Rent it tonight. I think that pretty much, if you're an American over the age of like 7, you know something about Jesus and that he died on the cross for you. Am I right? We've all heard the story, but it's more than a story. It's real. It really happened. It shows us just how much God loves each and every one of us. It's a real story about the Son of God living a perfect, blameless life, then laying it down as a sacrifice so the world could have eternal life; so we could be made right before God. Jesus made it possible for us to have a relationship with God. Watching that movie puts it all into perspective for me. Picturing Jesus being beaten beyond recognition and spit on and mocked...it really broke my heart. I was sitting there, watching this movie, praying that I wouldn't completely lose it and have a meltdown. Needless to say I think most people in the room watching the movie were crying. It's hard not to cry. Jesus Christ suffered and died for us! Thank God it didn't end there though. Just like Jesus said he would, he rose again and he's in heaven with God.

Tonight the whole YWAM base, about 70 of us in all, got together for a braai. (Basically a braai is the South African word for barbecue) We all ate great food and played volleyball and played some cards. It was a really fun night. Plus, the weather tonight was absolutely beautiful. If I had to guess I'd say it was about 73 degrees. Lately it's been in the 30's yet tonight it was warm! It was very strange weather, but it was perfect. Anyway, I miss you all and hope you have a wonderful weekend!

We're all only human

The more I read the Bible, the more I realize that I really don't have it all figured out. The more I try to comprehend about the Lord, the more complex and mind blowing I find him.The more I dig and search the Word with my heart and mind, the more I fall in love with it. I have absolutely no problem admitting that there's so much that I just don't understand, but it's okay! I don't need to know every answer. We never will figure it all out. That's the great thing about God; He's so bigger than what we think He is.

It seems like every week, (we study a new book of the Bible each week) I think, "Okay this one's my favorite". The Bible gets better and better. This week we're studying Luke. We have a gifted speaker who has an awesome understand of the Word. So as of this week, Luke is my new favorite book. And can I just say that the disciples give me hope as a believer. I mean really, some of the things that they say remind me that they're only human, just like all of us. They make mistakes. They open their mouths and say dumb things when they should just be quiet.

For example, Peter, in Mark 8:31-33. Jesus is telling the disciples that he's going to suffer and be killed. But Peter pulls him aside and rebukes Jesus. But Jesus turns around and rebukes Peter and actually says to him "Get behind me Satan". Oh Peter... not too wise.

Or how about John and James in Luke 9:51-55? Jesus and his disciples are heading to Samaria but the people there do not receive Jesus. So James and John say to Jesus, "Do you want us to commant fire to come down from heaven and consume them?" Seriously guys? Did you two just say that?? And Jesus rebuked them.

Now please understand; I'm not trying to knock the disciples, I'm just saying that I'm thankful that their humanity is shown through out the Bible. It reminds me that as followers of Christ we're all on this journey together and none of us have "arrived". We all mess up from time to time.

Mia and I have horrible colds right now. The problem with community living is that when one person gets sick, we all get sick. 12 people in one house, breathing on each other, passing germs around doesn't make for a good combination. There are quite a few people in the house with colds. Please remember us in your prayers. This cold is taking all our energy away. There has been so much sickness, and problems with people's visas and stuff like that. Satan knows that we're all growing and learning a lot from SBS and he is trying to stop us any way he thinks he can.

Okay, I have tons of homework to get back to. I am so interested in hearing what's happening in your lives and what God's teaching you right now. Also if there's anything you'd like me to be praying about, please send me an email and let me know. I pray for you guys often and miss you all! Tot siens.

interviewing disciples

Jesus is awesome. No really...he's awesome. This week we're reading the gospel of Mark. One of the most interesting things to me is how he chooses his disciples. In Mark chapter 1, Jesus walks up to these two ordinary, fisherman brothers (who are fishing w/ their dad) and basically is like: "Hey guys. What's up? Follow me", and just like that, James and John drop what they're doing (here's the key word...) IMMEDIATELY and follow Jesus. These dudes leave their dad in the boat and take off with this complete stranger! They immediately give up everything for Christ. Amazing!

If I was the Son of God, and was trying to choose my disciples, here's how I'd do it: I'd go to the local synagogue and interview all the smartest, most godly men I could find. I'm sure it would be a very intense interview process. However, Jesus chooses ordinary men. Not men that he found in the temple...fishermen and tax collectors and other normal people. What? Seriously?

Also, I think my absolute favorite thing in Mark was at the end of chapter 1, when Jesus heals a leper. The leper is begging Jesus to heal him. And Jesus is "moved to compassion". (Here comes my favorite part....) Now, Jesus could have just spoken "be healed", but Jesus TOUCHES the leper to heal him. Leprosy was a big deal. Lepers couldn't even be around other people. It was a humiliating, horrible disease. And the LORD touches this man to show him that he's just as worthy of receiving grace and healing as any other person. What a moment that must have been for the leper.

By the way, the 4th of July was great. We really had fun and ate way too much good food. It was great though. Pictures posted are from the 4th!

It's freezing cold here. It's supposed to be 12 degrees Celsius tomorrow (I have no idea what that means, other than it's cold). Anyway, I have a lot of homework to get back to. I love and miss you guys!

Wednesday intercession

I have internet in my house! I cannot even begin to tell you how happy that makes me. No more walking into town in the cold to go to the internet cafe. They close at 7 pm my time, which is only 1 pm back home... really inconvenient when trying to skype. But now I can skype home or check my email when ever I want! Okay, I'm pretty much ecstatic right now. :)

Here on the YWAM base, Wednesdays are really special. As an entire base, we fast lunch and during lunch time (1-2) we intercede for the township. Also we have a short time of worship. Some Wednesdays we do evangelism as well. The money that would have gone towards Wednesday's lunch is put into a special fund for orphans and widows. At the end of the month the base gets all the money together and buys them food. It's a really cool way to relate to people in the township. Every Wednesday at lunch time, when we're all really hungry, we know how thousands of people in the township feel every day.

In the School of Biblical Studies, the only Americans are Mia, my friend Christina (Christina and I were in DTS together back in Orlando), and me. Which basically means that Christina and I were a little bummed that we're going to be missing out on the 4th of July celebrations. Obviously South Africans don't celebrate our independence day... UNTIL NOW! Christina and I are planning a 4th of July party. We wanna show South Africa how we celebrate. I mean, the whole shabang. Fireworks, chicken, ribs, hamburgers, potato salad... well you get the picture. Sooo if any of you guys have any great recipes that you'd like to share, Christina and I would more than appreciate it.

Okay I have to get going. Time for prayer on the base. I love and miss you guys! Tot siens!