South Africa is AMAZING!

Hello!! It is Wednesday afternoon here in JoBurg and it is officially winter!! The temperature is a brisk 9 degrees Celsius (which is around 46 degrees Fahrenheit) I can't believe that tomorrow is our last day on the campus of UJ but my has God shown  up here! The time with our ministry partners has been so refreshing and encouraging. AND some super exciting news is that Monday, Mpho shared the gospel with a first year that she has known and that Lindsay and  I have been praying for since we met her a few weeks ago...Mpho came to share the news yesterday that Kelebogile accepted Christ as her Savior! And what is really amazing  is that one of our prayer requests is that one of our ministry partners would lead a girl to faith! God is so faithful and works  in funny ways! And this just shows that when God's children pray, he listens! 

So this weekend we are going on to a Leaders Camp with all of the students leaders at UJB and I am so excited to see how God moves. This is  going to be a chance for the leaders here to learn more about discipleship and to help further the movement here at UJ. After that we are going to stay in Sun Valley to do our Mercy Ministry. I am still not sure what we are going to be doing...but I'm excited to experience more of South Africa! This past week we were able to attend the Word Alive conference hosted by the church we go to here. Pastors from Perimeter Church in Atlanta spoke to us about living lives centered around the gospel and living out our faith in the workplace, in school, or wherever you go. It was really encouraging and the student leaders here ate it up!

Love from SA! 

Taylor

Sabona from South Africa!!

So it is crazy to think that I’ve been in Africa for three whole weeks now and have yet to write a blog post! Internet is a precious commodity in our busy schedules and hard to come by when we do get it! I absolutely love this adventure the Lord is taking me on here and really think I could stay here forever! The little time that I’ve had here has been so rejuvenating and encouraging! We spend most of our time on the campus of the University of Johannesburg Bunting Road Campus and I am loving the student leaders that Lindsay and I are partnered with! Tuesdays through Fridays from 2:00-10:00 p.m. are spent in the res (or dorms) with our partners Nkuli, Mpho, and Vuvu. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know these women and encourage them in their walk with the Lord. We’ve met a few first years, whose names I can not pronounce, and started to build friendships in order to share the gospel with them. We’ve had many fun nights learning African games and watching soapies (soap operas) and seeing how these women live. Each week is a new adventure and I am trying to soak up every minute of it! Each Tuesday morning we have Theme Training, where we talk and unpack our theme of “Completion” based off of 1 Thessalonians 3:8-10. We have a chance to apply what we are studying in 1 Thessalonians to our mission here in South Africa. Wednesdays are our free morning where we travel to Pick and Pay to do our grocery shopping. The first time we went grocery shopping I think our entire team was overwhelmed thinking of how to convert Rand into dollars. Thursday’s mornings are our extended study mornings where we have two and a half hours to dig into one aspect of our Christian walk. So far we have looked at gospel identity and the Holy Spirit and God has blown my socks off each time! Friday mornings we have life groups where we have a chance to share what the Lord has been teaching us and to grow deeper with the others on out team. Each Saturday we get to explore some aspect of South Africa and I have enjoyed the vastness of this country. Our first week here we went to a Lion and Rhino Park. I really felt like I was on Kilimanjaro Safari at Disney’s Animal Kingdom! We saw white lions up close and personal and were somewhat chased by ostriches and warthogs! We also got to play with baby lion cubs, which I think was a real dream come true! That night we ate a restaurant called Carnivores where I was able to try zebra, antelope, and crocodile! That day was defiantly a once in a lifetime experience! The next weekend we went the opposite way of the tourist route and went into a township outside of JoBurg called Mamelodi. There we partnered with a organization called Africa Revolution (Check out their website at www.africarevolution.org) and helped paint and clean the homes of two blind widowed gogo’s (or grandmothers) This experience really opened my eyes to how much I am blessed and how I take all of these blessings for granted! This past weekend we traveled two hours outside the city to a town called Kriel to help with a ministry to farm children. These are children that live on farms but do not receive much interaction with other children. We taught them games and had fun singing and dancing together. Many of the children spoke Zulu, which was somewhat a barrier, but you could still experience the joy radiating from their precious faces! It is crazy to think that it is already June and that we only have two more weeks on the campus. I would love it if you could pray for the rest of out time here and that we would be intentional with our time and make the most of the eight days we have left with our partners here. Pray that we would serve them and strengthen them in their walk and in their ministry here on the UJB campus. I am so excited about what is yet to come and continuing to praise God for all he is done here so far!

Much love from SA!

ltf

Two Weeks!

So 2 weeks from today, I will be somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean in route to Johannesburg! WOAH! It seems like just yesterday we were gathered in a conference room in Orlando, anxious and excited to hear about what we were being called to do this summer. That moment, our first CCP meeting, our summer started. That is when we first heard the names and saw the faces of students at UJ Bunting. Thats when we were first challenged to go deeper in our faith and deeper with others. And today we are just two short weeks away from actually meeting these students we've heard so much about and been praying for! God is so very good! 

Today I had the opportunity to share with my church here in Milledgeville, Sinclair Baptist, about this opportunity. I was so excited because not only do I come here on Sunday mornings, but I also work one day a week in the After School Program with many students that go to the Christian school the church started. John and I were able to share our vision with these people and they prayed over us and financially supported not only the CCP, but Beach Project and Mobilization Project as well! It makes my heart so happy that these people are so eager to jump on board with what the Lord is going to do not only in South Africa, but in Daytona and Augusta as well. Each day the Lord is making me more and more excited. I am praying that this excitement continues in the weeks to come, despite the stress of finals that is inevitable! Today at our weekly praise and worship meeting me read Phillipians 4:6 which says "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" This is going to be my motto verse for the next two weeks! But no matter how crazy life may get, I can rest assured that my Jesus is in control! 

Last and certainly not least, I wanted to pass along my daily prayer requests for the summer. I have the privilege of having two of my dear friends room's at Beach Project praying for me and I wanted to let yall have them as well!

Monday-Pray for my daily walk with the Lord. That I will run hard after 
him and grow more in love with him each day.

Tuesday-Pray for the girls we are laboring alongside in the Panorama 
dorm on UJ Bunting, Mpho, VuVu, and Nkuli. 

Wednesday-Pray that Lindsay and I will push each other closer to Christ 
and go deeper with each other and glorify the Lord through our 
partnership.

Thursday-Pray that Lindsay and I will see one girl come to faith in 
Panorama, and play a part in seeing the girls in Panorama lead one girl 
to faith.

 
Friday-Pray for our CCP Team. That we will learn to love each other 
well and grow together as a body.

Saturday-Pray that the Lord will grow and teach me this summer and that 
I would not come back the same person. I want to come back with a 
bigger heart for the Lord and furthering His kingdom. I do not want 
this summer to be the apex of my walk with the Lord, but that it would 
act as a springboard to my life after college.

Sunday-Pray that what we do this summer will reach further than just 
the campus of UJ Bunting. Pray that the girls we are laboring with will 
share with their familes and others and that the gospel will go forth 
in all of Africa! 

I hope to continue to keep yall updated as we get closer to d-day!

Know that you are loved.

ltf

So I'm going to Africa?

It is crazy to think that in just a few short weeks I will be getting on a plane for 18+ hours, heading to Johannesburg, South Africa for 2 months! I never thought I would ever have an opportunity like this, but God sure has much bigger and better things in store for His children! This semester has been crazy with school and sorority and trying to raise support, but it has been one of the most exciting so far. It is so neat to see my family and friends and even people I don't even know getting behind my vision to bring the Gospel to South Africa. I am so excited to grow deeper in my faith and experience life in a different culture. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I can't wait to see how God changes me! 

This past weekend was our last retreat with our CCP team. Man, it is so good to be around this group of people! They encourage me and push me in so many ways. These few weekends we had together have just made my excitement for the summer grow and grow. Our theme for this summer is Complete, based off of 1 Thessalonians 3:8-10. 

"For now we really live, if you stand firm in the Lord. For what thanks can we render to God for you in return for all the joy with which we rejoice before our God on your account,¹⁰as we night and day keep praying most earnestly that we may see your face, and may complete what is lacking in your faith." 

I can't wait to see how God moves this summer and grows us all more and more into completion. We are going to Johannesburg to grow in our love for the Lord and our love for those around us. We desire to go deeper with the Lord, so that we can go deeper with people. Living life on life, running shoulder to shoulder with our brothers and sisters. God is so very good and has great things in store for those who love them. So my charge to you is to run after the Lord with reckless abandonment and childlike faith. Go deeper. Trust harder. Stand stronger. 

Here are a few things that you can be praying for:                                                                       

          1. Support for our team. We are currently on track, but still need around $17,000 before departure on May 10th.                                                                                                                           

    2. That our team will finish the semester strong and daily follow after Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. That we would not be distracted by the things of this world and our faith in Him will grow as we prepare for the summer.

Thanks for all your support and prayer. You are greatly loved :) 

ltf