Finally out of the communication black out, so what happened?

Hey everyone,

We have officially moved into our flat on Monday that will be home for the next 4 months. The place is pretty sweet, has a nice gym and pool. The mall is right down the street and so is KFC and McDonalds. So living will be pretty difficult here, lol. But don't let that discount what we are doing, we likely have one of the most difficult mission fields as any team that went out this semester. The spiritual atmosphere is that of any large city, they are very focused on modern comforts and all that has to offer much like America. And since it is so much like America, there is the danger of us slipping back into that mind set as well. Our house does not have cable or internet so that should help to keep s active outside of our flat, which is the purpose of our trip, to infiltrate our community.

We spent the last two weeks in orientation at a retreat center with every HandsOn missionary in Central, Eastern, Southern Africa (CESA). I wish everyone could experience such a thing in their lifetime. As youth we all go on retreats and the like but it was so much more than that. When you not only share the common bond of faith in Jesus, but also the desire for missions and all that comes with that, we all bonded very quickly. The honesty and humility and power that came out during our worship times was incredible. And when I say worship times don't just think of us singing and preaching, it was so much more than that. Don't get me wrong we still worshiped in song, but other times we just talked about awesome things God had been doing that day, other times we stood in circles praying and reading scripture as the Spirit lead us, and oh it was so amazing. The people are real and that allowed us all to grow so much. The leaders were amazing in teaching us and going as the Spirit lead in order to let God be most glorified in our time. There were times, even days, when we scrapped what we had planned to do and just let God work.

During this time I learned a lot, was humbled many times, made many new friends, and even learned how to swing dance a little, so watch out when I get back home, lol.

My team consists of 4 guys, Jack, Ryan, Micah, and myself. As Jack put it "We are all very similar but different at the same time." We have seen the positives in us being teamed up, as far as strengths and weaknesses go, and I believe that we are all very excited to see how we work together.

Yesterday Micah and I went to a township with our supervisor, Chuck. A township is like a slum area but actually has a lot of rules to it. One example is you actually have to apply for the land you want to build a shack on with the local township council. We went with Chuck and a local pastor Beneus (sp?) and Chuck lead a Bible study. Then we drove around a little and that was all for that day.

I found out what I will be doing with the local church over here. The church is called Edenvale Baptist Church (EBC, funny enough). I will be working with the high school and middle school ( I believe). Haven't started that yet so don't know what all that entails. I will also be involved in a cell (life/family) group with people my age. The cell group is just to be a part of, no leadership role there.

Our other, main job, is to get into our community and affect them for Christ in any way we can. That means playing sports such as rugby and squash, working out, going to the pool, going to the mall, local restaurants, and the like and being intentional about all of it. I'm sure you read this and think that doesn't sound so bad, and it doesn't. Maybe you even say, hey I could do that over here in the US....so maybe you should? Just a thought.

For those wanting pictures and the like, over here the internet is a bit different. There are a few photos that I have been tagged in on facebook so if you have access to facebook you can check those out. Otherwise in South Africa you have to pay by the megabyte, which means it is expensive to do a lot of uploading and downloading. One example we were given was it would be cheaper to fly to China and use an internet cafe there and fly back than it would to upload 4GB over here. So I will do what I can when I can, but it will definitely be delayed because my computer and camera both stopped working, so its been a bad week for electronics for me. But I did get a cellphone. To call me you dial 011.27.729872865. If that doesn't work you may need + symbol after the 011. I would recommend getting a calling card. I can receive texts as well. My skype name is on facebook, so feel free to put that in and if you see me on to call me. Just remember Central time is 8 hours and Eastern is 7 hours difference forward. So as I write this it is 4 or 5 am for yall, while its 12pm here.

Prayer points

• Get settled in and used to each other as roommates (for some its the first time having roommates).
• To be intentional and mindful in everything we do.
• To work efficiently as a team.
• For the Edenvale suburb, Greenstone area, and Acacia complex that we will be living and functioning in.
• We have 7 other HandsOn teams spread out over Uganda, Malawi, Botswana, and South Africa. Prayer for their ministries. One of those teams, a team of 2 girls, live in the same complex as us and we will work with them often.
• That we stay humble before and usable by God and don't let ourselves get in the way.

So much has gone on in the past two weeks. So much growth has happened already, but its far too much to type. So feel to ask any questions and if you see my one facebook or skype feel free to talk to me. Or if you just can't stand it and want to call my cell phone that would be great, its free for me to receive so don't worry about that, just be aware of the time difference please.

Oh, and i shaved my head last night :)
Justin