cooking pots to diamonds

My last entry was a testimony of what God is doing in Red Hill. Today I am writing to praise Him for the work He's been doing in my heart. It would be difficult to describe in detail the lessons I've been learning and the challenges I've been given the grace to overcome. Thankfully, God gave me two pictures this weekend which describe perfectly the process He's taking me through. The first picture was of a big crusty, rugged black cooking pot hanging over a long abandoned fire pit. It's contents had been sitting for a long time, and had sunk to the bottom of the pot and solidified. However, a fire was lit under the pot, and the contents began to liquify. Then, God came with a big wooden spoon and began stirring everything around. All the nasty stuff that had been lying at the bottom for who knows how long began to rise to the surface and swirl around. That's what's happening to me right now; all the lies I've believed, all the bad habits I've formed, and all the ugly, impure stuff in my life is being brought to the surface in the fire of my experiences at CPx. Despite how ugly and horrible this picture seems, however, there is a beautiful outcome, which God revelaed in the second picture. He showed me a perfectly cut diamond with no blemishes. God told me that when He is finished working in my life during this season, my life will be like that diamond. He will shine His light into my life and because of the work he has done in me, I will refract the light and shine it into the world even more beautiful than it was when it shone in! This picture confirms a verse I came across in my quiet time back on February 25. At the time it felt like a promise for me and now I know that it was; 2 Corinthians 3:18 says "And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory." I am so encouraged by this hope of being transformed to be more like Jesus. That is the desire of my heart, and I am humbled and so grateful that God has promised me he will carry out this process. So, even though now I am going through one of the most challenging seasons of my life with all I am experiencing at CPx, I know that it will produce the greatest reward. The verse a friend gave me yesterday confirms this; "Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." (Galatians 6:9) Praise God for all he's doing in me! :)

Red Hill and sour milk

I have been battling for days trying to figure out a way to convey all the amazing stuff I’ve been learning in a concise, blog-able fashion. Today I came to a conclusion: it’s impossible! Through the lectures, group experiences, and time spent ministering in the communities God is teaching me so much about His love and power that it’s nearly impossible to absorb it all myself, let alone process and share with you all. However, I trust the Holy Spirit to take that which has eternal value and plant it deep in my heart so it will become part of my life.

Thankfully, there are some things I have figured out how to share with you. Today for our prayer and worship time at the beginning of lecture we met in our house churches. These house churches are groups of 5-10 students and leaders who go into the communities together and will go to another country or city on outreach during May and June. My church works together in Red Hill, the township I ministered in during my short-term mission trip this summer. We have had an awesome few weeks of meeting new friends and discipling older friends who follow Jesus. The meeting today was especially encouraging as each pair shared their experiences from yesterday’s visit to Red Hill.

Here are a few amazing testimonies of what God is doing through us in Red Hill:

Eric and I visited Lemise and her husband Mawetu, who are two of the faithful participants in the leadership training sessions we’ve been holding on Sundays. As we chatted with them we noticed two new paintings on the wall. Lemise told us her daughters, Unati and Fiogasi, had done them that day. Eric and I were so excited to read on the paintings “God is the healer; believe and trust him” and “I trust God because he loves us” because we had just led these two girls to the Lord on Friday! We met the girls walking on the road later that afternoon, and the two who had been shy and barely talked to us before were beaming and excitedly confirmed they would be coming to be baptized on Sunday. (We are having a celebration on Sunday at Africa House, where I live, for all the house church members in the communities we serve and baptizing people in our pool!)

Lucas and Petrus visited Bonisile who had accepted Jesus about a month ago. From the beginning he wanted to share with people what God had done in his life, but lacked boldness since he used to sell marijuana. In the past few weeks our guys have seen God strengthen him, and now he boldly shares Jesus with everyone he meets! While they were sitting with him yesterday he led a spontaneous bible study as Bonisile and 5 of his friends discussed what Mark 5:11 means to them. By the end of the conversation one of the friends, who Lucas described as a very rough looking guy who never smiled, expressed his hunger for God’s word and Bonisile led him to Christ. We are so thankful for guys like Bonisile who live in Red Hill who are working with us to fulfill Christ’s commission of making disciples of all nations.

Bruce, Bethany, and Pattiswa visited Nono yesterday to encourage her as her husband, Bantu, is home in the Eastern Cape for a family member’s funeral. She asked for prayer for her 9 month old baby who has had no use of one of her legs since birth. She had an operation on the leg, but it was still unable to bend and just dangled from the hip. The team prayed for the baby, then carried on chatting with Nono about her personal prayer requests. A moment later Nono pointed toward the floor in surprise – her baby was crawling! Praise God, the baby’s leg was totally healed.

In addition to the miracles God is doing in people’s life in Red Hill, he is really working in my heart. He is teaching me to be humble and live in true unity with the 21 other people who live in my house. I am amazed daily at the genuine love God puts in my heart for each person here. In the natural I couldn’t love them; there are so many cultural and personality differences which I know are only overcome by the power of the Holy Spirit. We don’t just live alongside each other in tolerance, but we work together cooking, cleaning, studying, and ministering. It’s truly a miracle considering all the cultures represented in Africa House: Peri, Ghana, American, Afrikaans, German, and Xhosa, not to mention all the guests who filter in and out of the house since it’s the office and home base of All Nations. It’s truly a special opportunity to get to live with so many drastically different people who are united by our love for Christ. Another special experience was the traditional Xhosa meal we shared tonight that involved a sauce of sour milk…literally. Thank God for toothpaste.