Bloomfontein

The past weekend I had the opportunity to join a team of people in Bloomfontein, South Africa. We went to do some Sunday School training in that area. I was on the team with 3 wonderful women and my pastor Kevin! I never thought Id be serving on a missions trip with my pastor in South Africa.

Carol and I drove out to the Free State on Thursday (The Free State is a different South African Prvince from where we live. It is South West of Johannesburg). The rest of the team had been out in Bloomfontein since the previous Friday. They spent time talking in the schools and visitng churches in the area.

Our Sunday School training on Saturday went very well. I was supposed to teach the Preschool Sunday School group. Due to the limited number of workers in churches, there are very few people dedicated solely to preschool. So the preschool and children classes were combined. I got to work with Debbie to do the training. I think things went very well. We had 9 people in our class. We had fun and the ladies seemed to understand and incorporate our ideas into actual lessons. And since my Sunday School training is limited to mostly South African experiences, I learned alot too! God definitely worked it out so that the training ran smoothly. I think Debbie and I both wished we had another hour or two to really dig deeper into the training. But I think the ladies in our class walked away with new ideas of how to teach about God in fun and relevant ways.

On Sunday, I went with Carol to a church in one of the townships. It always amazes me that people live in such ramshakle, poor conditions when there are big, mansion-sized houses only miles away.

I left the church knowing I had been in the house of the Lord that day! The music was fantastic! The keyboards and other instruments that belong to the church had been stolen in the past month, but they didnt need them. I cant begin to describe the music. But withut a doubt, those people knew how to raise their voices and praise God. EVERYONE sang. The children, the youth, the older men, and a few solos as well. And most of the music was spontaneous. No order of service. Just honest praise and heartfelt worship. My only regret is that I didnt understand most of their songs. It was a blessing to spend the Sunday in that church.

The team ended their week with a few days in Johannesburg. I was so excited that they could see where I work. They could meet my kids and teachers. They even got to stop by my apartment for tea and coffee and see where I live! Ive tried so hard to share what Im experiencing through this blog. It was a blessing to have other people see this place and these people and get to share my experiences here by showing them instead of just telling them! Im so greatful that God planned for this missions trip. What an awesome God we serve!