of Life and Sacrifice

At our cell we discussed sacrifice it brought all these questions to my mind again. I know that life is fragile, that I could die at any moment. It makes me wonder if I have lived a life that has made a diffirence or am I waithing to be an official missionary. This is where sacrifice comes in, do I sacrifice my life each day to serve God, to make a diffirence in this life. Reading about Paul and Silas’s missionary journey I realize that they did sacrifice, when they were beaten and thrown into prison, and the times when they were banished from towns and cities, they carried on and sacrficed. They sacrificed their backs for more beatings ultimately even their lives. The thing is this, is there anyting on this planet that I think is more important than another human. Is there anything that I would not sacrifice. Is my life, my family, my spouse, my education, my friends, my ministry, is it, is anything more important to me than sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am being challenged to be a broken vessel, a vessel that can truly be used.

June 16 1976

“He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities, The Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him,” Is 53

Today is the anniversary of one of South Africa’s darkest events. The Soweto uprising. Black school children protested for having to learn Afrikaans, police opened fire. 178 died. They were only children. It is one of those things that leave you speechless at humanity’s capacity for evil. It is scary to think that I am human and have that same capacity.
Or to want to reach out as a missionary to these children who are now grown up. No one will ever know how deep the scars run that were left by the apartheid regime. In Christ alone will we be able to reach out, and make a difference. I guess I’m just babbling, I just know that so many of my fellow country men are dying and going to Hell. When I close my eyes I see their faces in front of me and it makes my stomach hurt.
There is good news, there is salvation. You can be saved from this planet and all the pain that it has brought. Christ is risen, He died for you, that is all that matters. No matter what, Jesus Christ died for you- “But the Lord was pleased to crush Him.”

Twenty-Three

I’ll be 23 tomorrow, I wonder if that means that I have to be more mature now. I guess I’ll see if I feel more mature when I wake up tomorrow morning. This past year has been amazing. Thanks to all the people who have made this one of the best years ever, Colleen and Erica, The Messimers, my wonderful parents all the friends at triple C, Mike and Dezi, and my wonderful loving husband. It is exciting to think of all that God has done in the last year, and what He is going to do in the coming year.

We have been back in the Sates for a few months now, and it semms as though our trip was a lifetime away. I still miss the girls and I am excited for them, to see what they will do with their lives. There are so many people that we met on the trip, some who know Christ personally, and then there are the ones who do not know Him at all.
There is an older setswana couple that I think about often, they worked at the flea market selling things that they had made. I know like 5 words in their language, so I tried them out, they seemed to enjoy it. When I left this old lady came up and hugged me, it was not just any hug, but another human reaching out, crossing a language barrier. She clung to me for a while and then we left. I went back looking for them the next week, but they were gone.
It is strange how encouters such as this one can make us feel so close to Christ, while at the same time it gives us a taste of a hopeless life, lost whithout Him.

Sometimes

Sometimes I really miss my Family. They are all in South Africa. I worry about them alot, especially my three brothers. Please pray for them, for my parents and my brothers, for their safety, and that I might be able to see them again soon.

Howdy howdy…

Summer must be the best invention ever. My hands hurt from playing x-men on the xbox, we get to sleep until noon, and we’ve eaten more than steak than I thought was possible. Yeah, summer is amazing, and being married makes it that much better.

Like being Christian for example, it’s not about me. It never was, it is the one that is lost that we look for, not the 99 that are saved. Marriage teaches you that, that you live no longer for yourself. That there is someone and something bigger than yourself. The mystery of marriage. It is such an amazing feeling to be this content and this happy and at peace.

Yeah, getting married is the best thing I’ve ever done 🙂

Those people…

Continuing on this serious rant of mine, these are the lyrics to Brave Saint Saturn’s under bridges.

Yesterday while walking,
Beneath an overpass,
I saw the figure of Jesus,
Standing barefoot on broken glass.
His beard was graying,
The smell of urine filled the air,
Asking if I had some change,
Anything that I could spare.
Emaciated,
His shaking fists balled up,
Influenza and pneumonia,
Begging God to take his cup.
So different from the pictures,
Breathing air through yellowed tubes,
Jesus Christ, dying of AIDS,
can look right through you.

And all have hated,
Crucified and walked away.
The Savior of the prostitutes,
Drunkards, rapists and the gays.

We have a mesasge to send to you:
In the Beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

Under bridges,
With hands raised,
From the ghettos they praise his name.
Broke and crippled in the dark of night,
Raise your voices to Jesus Christ,
Hallelujah.

He did not have to, I am so thankful that He did.

Do I know this?

I love the Chronicles of Narnia. I recently purchased the album that was inspired by the movie (various Christian artists). I was listening to it the other day and one of the lyrics caught my attention. It said that when I heard your song it was somehow familiar (Talking about the song Aslan sings to create the universe).
It made me think of something, that somehow God, Christ, is familiar to us all. Even those that are lost, when soemone turns to Christ, their Spirit may cry out with a groan. Kinda that homesick-groan in your stomach when you finally reach home.
I’m not really sure what I am getting at, maybe just that everyone reacts when they hear about Christ why is that? Could it be that inside they long to go home, they long to be in the arms of Christ?
I remember when I was in Namibia on a misson trip listening to that song “Draw me close,” thinking that perhap that is the cry of all who are lost, they just do not know what it is that they long for.
All I know is that people are lost, and I know the Way. It’s all I can think about sometimes.

Haai Haai ek is n blaarslaai…

We are back and finals are once again over. It has been five months since i last was here, in fact i clean forgot we even had a blog… Oops…
Many things have happened this pst semestr, the greatest being the mission trip. I really was not sure that 10 days could change a life, but it can. It did.
There are so many faces and stories that filled our ten days. Even our layover in Germany has a few good stories. I do not think that there is any way to ever know the full impact that this trip has had. Erica, the blond one of our team, is already planning a trip back there with her fiancee. My parents have seen what missions really can be, our passion for Africa and her people has been refreshed. From the start God was working with us, we received over a thousand dollars more than we needed, it was amazing. I am South African, it is my home it is where i grew up, but i was not prepared for the Johannesburg that i met on this trip. South Africa is a beautiful place, but her people are so desperately lost, there is not one people group in that country that does not need to be rescued.
Anyways enough of my ramblings, I’ll get back with some pictures and stories… in five months or so. Kidding.
Ask God to send out people-to reach people, maybe even you.
Later

It is finally over.

We made it, our first year of college is done with. Finals are done, the year is complete. JIPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE SKIPPIE!!
Now we can concentrate on the spring break trip. We are leading an 8 person team to South Africa for a mission trip. Right now raising support is the biggest thing we have to deal with. Check back to read our support letter I would like some eedback on it. Later