And so it begins...

Hanging out with Cor!

Oh man! So much to update you guys on. It has been great getting settled in here in Pretoria. The girls only came home on Sunday night. The first few days I just went to the gym and enjoyed having a home that I can settle into. On Saturday I had the chance to go out to Krugersdorp to celebrate Settie’s (my boss Chris’ wife) birthday. It was such a blessing to feel a part of their family. Cor (their 4 year old son) took to me and hung out with me for most of the day. As did the little one Peter. And the girls have taken to calling us aunts. So I got to be Auntie Rachel which was great. I also had some interesting conversations with a family friend of theirs and Settie regarding the presence of the Occult in South Africa and some of the other issues they face. I learned a lot. I left that time feeling blessed and filled. I love the body of Christ!

This photo was taken by Peter... He's only about 3... I think he has some talent!

Lynn Marie, Kirsten, and Venolia enjoying the pool! 

  On Sunday, I went to church after watching a devastating rugby world cup game. The Boks completely dominated everything but the scoreboard. At Church, the pastor was talking about the importance of keeping Christ at the centre of our evangelism and of our lives. We were looking at Acts chapter 13, when Paul despite his constant pain and having John Mark leave them persisted with his journey and when he had the chance; he boldly proclaimed who Christ is and what He did.  I also celebrate a Canadian thanksgiving with my American housemates, an old friend that I met at camp named Mary, Missy, and some new friends that were visiting Paul and Haley. It was a great time of fellowship and we all bonded over the Mexican food that I made. There were no turkeys available here but it was a great chance to thank God for the multitude of blessings in my life. That includes you guys, the opportunities that I have being here and most importantly for sending His Son Jesus Christ to save me from my sin! When I was taking my friend Mary home we had a chance to chat a bit. She was sharing the impact of our camp last year. God used it in huge ways to renew the team and many of the girls faiths. At their training camps, and on tours the girls have started having bible studies, praying as a team before meals and asking Christ to be a part of their athletics and their lives. And God has been blessing their team. They qualified for the 2012 Olympics for the first time ever! And while their team was stretched to be at qualifiers also had enough depth for a good showing at the All Africa Games. It is amazing to know that you were a small part of a catalyst of God’s working in their lives. It is even more amazing to me that I get the chance to be a part of a longer investment in these girl’s lives.

On Monday I met with Granny, we discussed how I could best help the team, and I started tutoring the girls on Tuesday night. I will be helping with everything from English to accounting. However, I don’t know a whole lot about accounting, but I can help with most of the other subjects. So far the girls have been responsive to my help and I think it will build some strong relationships. It is a bit tough because I go to training from 6-7:30 then immediately to tutoring from 7:30-9 or 10 but I feel a difference even in the first few days. So it is well worth it. I am still looking to become more involved with the girls but I am not sure what that will look like yet. I would like to help with some soccer skills as well as starting up a bible study and discipleship. But I am trusting God’s timing and leading with that.

The last exciting thing is that I have started training with the Tuks (University of Pretoria) soccer team. I am learning just how out of shape you get when you don’t train for 4 months… but it is good. Definitely enjoying the burning in my lungs and quads.  I have been talking with Shorty, who I met last summer at camp, and we have some interest in having a team bible study! So I am excited to get going with that. Shorty will also be sharing her testimony in Joberg at a soccer camp on Saturday. I am excited to have a greater involvement in her life and feel so blessed by her friendship!

So that is a bit of an update on what is going on here. It is cool to see God put the pieces together for me and I want to go forward trusting His leading. Please pray for wisdom for me both in teaching the girls and next steps. It is nice to start being involved and can’t wait to see what God has planned! Love you guys!! Thank you for your continued prayer!

Moving Time

Kitchen

Living Room

Hey, just wanted to give you guys another update on how I am doing. I have now settled into my new home in Pretoria. I moved in on Wednesday and figured I would post some photos for you! I have been enjoying trying to find some routine; this will become easier once the girls are back from holiday on Sunday. I have enjoyed being so close to the gym and slowly will be getting back into shape. I need to be ready for our beach mission because it is an intense two weeks.

My Room

My room

My Room

Since Cape Town there have been a few things going on. I drove up to Pretoria before I moved to try to connect with the girls. We had planned this over a week in advance for me to connect with them, but when I arrived the coach had the girls tied up in meetings for the entire day. That just proved to be confirmation of the importance of my location here in Pretoria, instead of having to drive for an hour back home in that situation I can just hit the gym and drive the 5 minutes home. 

The Tank

Joy of the Goal

A couple of weekends ago we helped out with an AIA fun day at a Christian Academy in Southern Joburg. We were asked to run a soccer tournament in this big blow up “arena” with nets. It was slow going but we ended up with 8 3v3 teams. We also had a trophy and a prizes. We put our own team in as well. Missy and I were the only girls in the tournament but we represented well :) 

I took on a team of about 20 kids with a guy playing on a different team in the tournament. This one little guy was a champion. He didn’t care who or what was in his way, he just ploughed through. When he got knocked down from running into knees or anything else, he just shook it off. The other cool part of the weekend was that we were able to bring along one of our Plett Outreach team members to come and get a taste of sport ministry. A small taste as it was not a gospel focused day, but it was still a great chance to love on the community. 

Our Team: Basil, Missy, Me and Kyle

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The last big event of these past few weeks was our first Plettenberg Bay Beach Mission (Plett) training camp. The goal of this first camp is team bonding and gelling. (Pictures should follow soon) It had a bunch of the usual; create a war cry, a team dance, volleyball, ultimate Frisbee,  obstacle course, tire stacking, build a square with a rope blindfolded, mafia, a number of great games of signs, we even put each of our team members through a rope spider web, without anyone touching the ropes. (every time the ropes were touched you went back to the beginning.) Probably the most memorable part of the weekend was the egg game and the most impactful was the silent run. The egg game starts with everyone having an egg taped onto their head. You then procede to play a type of capture the flag, where the only way you are tagged is if they crack the egg. The first two people on our team to have their eggs cracked (Kyle and Missy) said “it’s not so bad. The egg doesn’t really splatter just lean forward and it drips off” The first time my egg was cracked it splattered everywhere. There was egg on my arm, on my shirt, in my hair, so gross!!! The game ended with everyone in the pool and some crazy memories to be had by all. The most impactful part  of my weekend was probably the silent run. We ran just over 2 km and I was talking with God and the one thing He put on my heart was that I can go an entire day without once thinking about His sacrifice and His mercy.  This is such a challenge to me and something I am going to focus on. Life is too short not to live it with my eyes focused on Christ. The impact of His death on the cross should affect all my thoughts and each of my actions daily.  If I am not living for Him, what is there to be living for?

I want to thank you for your prayers for me. I hear frequently from some of you and from my mom how you are lifting me up and it means so much to me. If there is a lasting impact and fruit from this ministry it is because it has been covered in your prayers! Daily I am grateful for your love and support! Please continue to pray for me as I try to find my place in the girls routines at the HPC and as we move towards our Beach Outreach. Please pray for divine appointments and the preparation of hearts. Pray for clarity for our message and for growth in the students’ lives. We have our next training camp on the 21^st of October. Please be praying that our students would prioritize this time and work hard leading up to it so that they can attend fully.  At our first training camp we were missing 5 students and three had to leave early for their studies. We need a committed team.  Pray that the students will see the value of the sacrifice that they make to be there and pray that God will bless them with effective study times. Love you guys tons! Blessings!

Cape Town

After ISLS I was blessed to spend time with Missy and Dominic exploring Cape Town for a few days. It was beautiful but a little cold. Day 1 we rented our car a cute little Chevrolets Spark, we drove to watch an Ajax reserves game. Got to see God’s perfect timing as he brought the right people to connect at that game and a bible study is likely to start up within the Ajax club. We also did a wine tour at Groot Constantia. This is South Africa’s oldest winery. We learned a lot as we were on a private tour. They produce the Grand Constance, a wine that was very popular with Napoleon and appears in some Jane Austin novels to name a bit of its heritage. We also had a chance to taste a few of the wines, they weren’t bad... and I don’t even like wine... There was a Shiraz, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Blanc Noir and their Port. That evening we went to Dominic’s house where we stayed and made a delicious taco salad. We are attempting to spread this phenomenon throughout South Africa. So far wherever we bring it, it has been a success. 

The next day we drove Chapman’s Peak, had a meeting with the Cape Town AIA group (it’s exciting to hear the ministry starting up there), Drove down through Simon’s Town, climbed the rocks and visited a couple penguins at Boulder’s Beach, Drove to Cape Point, hung out on Diaz beach and Swung by the Cape of Good Hope. While we journeyed we saw penguins, baboons, a kudu, many birds, (including some that swarmed us to try to steal our food), ostriches, blue bottles, a seal that was playing in the surf at the beach (that was really cool. It would show up in the calm part of the wave as the wave rolled in, like a window to the seal and his world), a fuzzy caterpillar (or worm as Dom would say), a weird insect. God was just pouring out his creativity and diversity on us as we travelled. It was amazing.  Sorry that sentence about the animals was so long. Feel free to take a breath in the middle. We also enjoyed a lovely dinner at The Golden Dragon Restaurant. Sadly the oven was broken so there were no egg tarts. (Kevin if you are reading this I saw them on the sign at the front and I was sooo excited)

 

The next day we arrived at the base of the Platteklip Gorge at 6am. We climbed about halfway and watched the sun rise, then finished our climb. It was such a cool view of God’s creation and we just loved being surrounded by the things He has made. Such an amazing journey, but it also reminded me just how out of shape I am... haha. We enjoyed some early morning cake and treats at the top to celebrate Missy’s Birthday. That evening we took in the sunset at Blouberg Beach and I enjoyed pulling out my inner photographer ( I hope you enjoy some of my favourite shots throughout this entry). This beach is very popular with Kite Surfers and has a great view of Table Mountain. I think I have found something new that I want to try someday. It looks like a blast. We finished off the evening with a movie and dinner at the big Casino/resort in Cape Town. The tickets were 22R each because it was a special day... that’s just over 3 dollars.  We also risked 20R (under 3 dollars) in the .10R slots and came  away with a big win of 225R This paid for the rest of our parking for the trip and breakfast. All in all an amazing day!

 

On our final day in Cape Town we arose early and watched the sunrise at the Rhodes memorial, grabbed breakfast and flew home. I am so blessed by my friendship with Missy and am looking forward to more time together until she leaves in December.  I hope you enjoy the photos and for those of you with facebook there are more posted there! Sorry there are only kind of in order. I was having formatting troubles. 

Table Mountain:

 

 

 

Kudu

Blue Bottle Jellyfish

The wave the seal was playing in

Where the Atlantic and Indian Ocean's Meet

Diaz Beach

Boulders Beach

I love the way these plants just grew out of the boulder I was sitting on

 

ISLS NTC

It was a little cold for the SPECIAL

Last week we had the opportunity to work through the National Training Camp Principles with a group of 27 students from all over the world.  I have been through the principles training many times but this was the first time that I had the opportunity to teach it to a large group. I was in charge of the audience of one principle. This focuses on 1 Kings 18 and the idol worship toward Baal. I have heard the teaching many times but as I begin to talk  about verse 28 when the prophets began to cut themselves with swords as they cried out to Baal to satisfy them and to show his power I was moved in a whole new way. I had images of those that chase relationship for value and worth, of athletes who will do anything, push beyond what anyone should to serve their sport or their need for power. I was reminded of things that I have done to fill my desires and cover my pain. However, when put to the test these false things that we worship, that we make the centre of our lives. They don’t come through in the end. They just leave us crying out, wounded, lost, hurt and unsatisfied. In the same way when athletes discover that their sport cannot really supply them with the worth or the power they desire. They reach the top only to realise that they have two choices. One fight to hold on to that peak, to regain that rush or retire, and if they stay and fight they soon realize that every time they get to that peak again it doesn’t quite compare to the first victor, so they spend the rest of their time pursuing this unachievable goal. It was cool to see as I spoke the Holy Spirit moulding and shaping my time, teaching me and seeing the impact on the students as well. 

 

After all the principles were taught, we ran the students through the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Many of the students had some ideas about the special, so there was some fear when we arrived. I had fun injecting bits of Canada’s special with the way they normally run it each year. There were many challenges for the students:  injuries, struggles and frustrations but along with that there was also a lot of great competition, perseverance and teamwork. When we reached Golgotha at the end of the marathon, it was challenging and encouraging to hear the impact on the students. I had wondered through the process if some people were getting anything out of it. At the end they shared that they had gained a new impact of Christ’s sacrifice, they were burdened by what He had done; each lash of the whip, the pain of the cross, the people’s taunts and spitting. One of the students shared that as he ran, the people encouraging him became the crowd mocking Jesus, spitting on him, cursing him. This student made an amazing observation, at the end of the special there are people congratulating you, hugging you, encouraging you. At the end of Christ’s journey, He was left alone, dead on a cross. Carried to a grave and placed behind a stone. There was no one to congratulate Him this side of heaven. Yet He went anyway, He endured anyway, and He accepts our sin anyway. Then He rose again and is sitting with God interceding on our behalf and loving us despite ourselves.

 

I have to say there were a few challenges with this ministry, the hardest being that I was not able to participate as we were in charge of running it. For some people this wouldn’t be too hard but it was interesting to experience. I wish that I had spent more time lifting the students up in prayer. That is one of my biggest challenges. Knowing that we were there to intercede and to cover the time in prayer pulled out one of my weaknesses in my walk with Christ: persistence in prayer. One of the other things God revealed to me is that when I feel intimidated or challenged in a situation one of my first reactions is pride. I begin to look for faults in those around me to build myself up. This was something I didn’t realize and I am working through with God. One of the things I am doing to counter it and letting God change my heart is that when I start to think poorly against someone I begin looking for the presence of God in them, looking for their heart, looking for the things that make them special and seek to build them up.

Something God has taught me a lot about recently is the trust and unity within the body of Christ. How our love for each other has its depth not in the way we feel about each other but the way we feel about Christ. Because of this God called me to trust the group and share my struggles with pride, to apologise to the group and to build them up toward their ministry. It doesn’t matter if you have known them for years or only hours; genuine believers in Christ are family and can be trusted with emotion, struggles, fears and successes.

 

During my time at ISLS, I made some friends that I look forward to coming alongside of on our respective journeys. Each of their hearts for their country and for Christ and His work was such a blessing. I even had a chance to practice my Spanish and during that, time I was reminded once again of how much I love Hispanic culture. Not sure what God will do with that passion, but that is a concern for another day. I want to thank you all for your prayers for this time and know that God was moving.

 

Bats in the Belfry? I don't think I even have one of those...

God’s Blessings just continue over my time here. I was able to purchase my SIM card and activate my phone for a pricey R 0.99. No activation fee so that was great. Managed to get myself completely locked out of my phone once already (it is great to get that out of the way. Haha. )

 

Now on to what I am sure most of you would view as a more pressing matter than my cell phone. The flat I had mentioned before was taken before we were prepared to make a decision about it. The next place, which I found online, was everything that I had hoped for and more. I was pretty sure that I had found the perfect place. (Insert photo here)  The deal was ready to be signed but there was one more place to see. The first place was a flat by myself on a property with a few other flats. This one is the basement of a house. The upstairs is a missionary family serving with Campus Outreach and the basement was the home of two of the single female staff members. One of them is moving home at the end of this month.  Now I was torn and needed to figure out where God wanted me to be living, not just what would be best for me but also what would be best for the ministry that God wants me to be doing. I had a chance to chat with Stephanie (the girl moving) and she directed me to James 1:5- If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. Going for with that I spent a day in prayer and seeking wise council. I felt that God was calling me to live with the Campus Outreach team because it will keep me more accountable, be safer and I can learn a lot about discipleship from them as their organization is very focused on this. Now that I have a place to live, I am excited to move up to Pretoria. This will occur at the beginning of October. Until then the majority of my ministry with my Pretoria girls is holding the ministry in prayer and the occasional visit, the next one will be on September 25. This waiting to start is challenging for me, but I am learning about the culture, past history and patience. Gods timing is always perfect so I have to trust in that.

By the way my new mailing address is 179 Smith Street, Mucklenuek, Pretoria, South Africa 0002.

 

I had my first solo drive up to Pretoria the same day I went to see the house. I had to replace both the clutch and brakes on the car I am driving but now that I have that done, I am enjoying driving here.  I have been all around including mini golfing with Missy and a member of my team from camp last year. That was great catching up and seeing how excited she was to have me back in South Africa. God has granted me favour with the people I have been in contact with. A family that I met at the resolution conference had me to their church and then back for a braai on Sunday. This proved to be slightly more exciting than expected when the front of their yard was on fire due to some welding issues. Just another day in here in South Africa, I suppose...  We had a great time of fellowship and I know that their friendship will be a blessing in the coming year.

 

Also exciting was the visitor that I had the other evening. I have to say that he was cute... I posted his picture below. I looked into my room, there were the strangest shadows looping around my room, and the cat, who does not spend much time in my room, was sitting on the floor watching in circles. This genuine South African bat was my friend for a good while until he settled above the drapes and we were able to move him outside the house. Life here is pretty exciting.

 

Tomorrow we fly to Cape Town. Our flight leaves at 6am. Please pray for us me as I will be leading the first session on the Audience of One principle. I am excited to help lead an NTC because each time I have done it I have grown and learned so much. Please pray that God will give me the right words to share his message and for safety for the students as they do the on field sessions and the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. In addition, we are getting fully into our preparation for the Plettenburg Bay Beach Mission. Our first training camp is coming up on October 1-2. Please pray that as we prepare and lead we would be listening to God’s desire for the camp. That we would trust His lead and not just doing what we think would be good to do. Pray for the hearts of the team, that God would prepare and challenge them to grow in these next months as we get ready for the mission.

 

Lastly Missy and I will be staying in Cape Town for a few more days after the session, please pray that this would be a great time to connect, grow and refresh as we take in the Beauty of God’s creation in that beautiful city.

               

Thank you guys so much for your thoughts and prayers and the support that has allowed me to take this big step of faith. I can’t wait to see what God has planned next!

Love,

Rachel

SOUTH AFRICA UPDATE

So I am now a week into my time here in South Africa. I am currently living in Johannesburg while we work to find some accommodation in Pretoria.  I had my first contact with the girls (U-17 team) at the HPC (High Performance Center), and with Granny who looks after the girls. These were both very positive and God is confirming his call for me to be here. Please be praying for favour in the eyes of the leadership on the team including the coach Cheryl and Granny as well as accommodation for me. We may have found a place but it is a little bit expensive, but doable. The only thing is that it is a bit far from the HPC. This past week I have been resting and recovering from China and the cold that I picked up there (Thanks Colin…). In addition, just getting a few things organized and spending some quiet time preparing for the months ahead. Also a note of praise is that a phone was found for me so I won't have to buy one, instead I can just purchase a SIM card!

Coming up soon:

-Move to Pretoria (ASAP)

-International Sports Leadership School- We will be talking about the principles of faith and sport. I will be teaching the “Audience of One” Principle. After that, Missy (the other intern who is from the states working here in Jo’burg) and I will be spending 3 days exploring Cape Town. Sept 15-22

-Plettenburg Bay Mission training camps. There are three of these, where we will be building into our student leaders for the mission.

-Plettenburg Bay Mission. We will be doing 10 days of outreach on the beach to the local community. Playing many sports and sharing the gospel and our testimonies.

-World’s tallest bungee jump after Plett?? I think so!

P.S. For those of you wanting a mailing address:

PO Box 2046

Sunninghill

Johannesburg SA

Postal code: 2157

This address will always work but I will let you know when I have one in Pretoria as well. 

P.S. Please check out my review from China below as well! And feel free to leave comments and/or questions!! Love you all tons! Rachel