NEWS FROM SOUTH AFRICA

This being our first blog and also our first shot on the internet since we arrived, we’ve got a lot of information to squeeze in. Short and sweet… our trip over was mostly problem-free with the exception of some lost luggage, and our layover in London was fantastic! (More on this later…now on to the mission work!)

Our first few days here have been busy! We started off the trip with a weekend retreat consisting of many of the local churches. We took a charter bus an hour and a half out into the mountains at a camp just outside of Capetown. The ride was absolutely breathtaking- this is such a beautiful country.

Since it is winter in South Africa, they warned us to bring jackets for the evenings. Of course, we’re thinking, “We’re in Africa, how cold can it really get?” We found out the hard way. Every night, it got down near 0 degrees Celcius (around 30 degrees). We froze every night since there was no heating in any of the cabins, but we persevered.

The singing was awesome. Each of the groups (Watershed, Free Indeed, One Spirit, VHF) took turns leading worship for each session. For the main night sessions, all of the groups would come out together and close out each evening with high-energy worship. With so many people who can truly sing, the music was moving and powerful! I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting the local churches and South Africans to know many of the songs we do. (You know, we’d have to sing the older “throwback” devotional songs) But my expectations were blown right out of the water as they sang “Lord, Reign In Me” at the top of their lungs and “How Great Is Our God” with hands raised! It was so cool do see how many songs they DID know and how passionate they sing.

Last night, all the groups got together and we sang a medley I had done with at Friday Night Lights a month or so back at Rochester. I had never done it a cappella before, but everyone filled in the parts easily. So, to close out the evening, we sang “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” and “Open the Eyes Of My Heart”. To sing a cover of a U2 song has been somewhat of a dream of mine, but to do it in South Africa . . . . WOW.

One of the verses in the song says, “I believe in the Kingdom come, then all the colors will bleed into one. You know I believe it . . “ Powerful stuff. Especially to sing those words in a country who has had such a history with apartheid and racism. In South Africa, the churches are small and diverse. It is difficult for them to come together. It is our hope that we are able to bring a message of hope and unity to these churches. That Jesus is reason enough to be unified.

Another song the South Africans love is “Jabulani”. I was a little apprehensive about singing a South African song in SOUTH AFRICA, but they absolutely loved it. We’ve had to sing it everyday so far- a trend I expect to continue throughout our stay here.

We’ve got the next day to enjoy some of the sights in South Africa…we’ll definitely update you on that soon, but we are ecstatic about the upcoming week. We’ve been informed that the two concerts they had set up and opened to the public have way exceeded their expectations. In Durban, they have sold over 1000 tickets and in Empangani over 600! In both places, they are expecting around 75% of the audiences to be non-Christian . . . so a great opportunity for outreach!

A BIG thank you to all who’ve been praying for us! Keep them going this week as we share the gospel through music! More to come soon . . . .