January Whirl

At the beginning of this new year God has answered a pretty few of my 3-month old prayer requests (hm... I didn't need to wait so long...):


- My international driving license has arrived! I am very excited because 1. I have more opportunities and 2. I can become a (more) confident driver (What a gift!).

- I have my home church: the Hillbrow Independent Baptist Church in the heart of the city. Last Sunday with one of the boys I crossed the street to get some peanuts before Church Service. He asked me: Can you run fast? Hm... :D I invited the mongers to church and I prayed right there for them because God loves to see in His house even those who have dreds. I hope one day they will take Him seriously.

- A few years ago I whispered a prayer to God if He thinks fit than to use me in people's lives by a regular ministry as well. He has answered it double: I can serve in the Youth on Fridays (and help the girls) and I can show the beautiful truths of the Bible to the young ones in their language at Sunday School. I am so very excited, I can't even put it into words... :)

- At Word of Life South Africa besides the new year's big Bible Club Material reproduction (printing, punching, binding, shipping) now we are to organize 3 camps (3 weeks in a row - my responsibility is the program). Now I make myself completely at home. :D

- The Discipleship Training Center has started (4 boys): I have a really important role in this!!! Twice a week I cook for supper! :D My price ups to 100 cows by now. Who would offer more? :D My new favorite is that I can introduce the drama world to the guys - they can learn a lot of new things, many skits and the Born Again To A Living Hope will take its first steps with them as well.

Above all my social life is getting stronger as well - I get to a know and keep in touch with more and more people.

Thank you very much that so many of you are beside me and pray for me! It means a lot to me!!!


PS unbelievable as it is - It rains a lot this summer in Johannesburg (which means the sun is not shining).

SUMMER CAMPS

(I am already asking the WOL Hungary Summer Camp Team's forgiveness!!! :D)

I have spent the best week of my life in a summer camp organized by WOL South Africa. We had a lot of preparation. Though the kids camp was only 2 nights/3 days and the youth one was 5 days we needed to design and do the decoration, to plan the daily activities, schedules, games related to the topic (kids camp - Safari, youth camp - Truth under pressure)...

I was a program helper which actually meant joker (slavey?). :D I was truly thankful for it because I was able to taste of everything: I was part of a lot of pranks, I taught how to swim, I talked to a girl after the dedication camp fire, I led a morning hike with Quiet Time, I landed in the swimming pool in my jeans, I was Zizi, the zebra for three days, I was the key person (the main coordinator of the room checks :), I led many, many games...

2 favorite memories:

- I asked Miriam to announce after one of the evening meetings my Hungarian collage, Andris Bartos' picked bone joke: "Put on water and fire-proof clothes for the evening game!" You should've seen those scared faces and then heard all those questions: What kind of cloth is that? Are we really going to play with the fire? ... :D :D :D

- The original plan was to have a morning hike with Quiet Time every morning with each team but it was raining all week except Friday when I was scheduled to lead the group. So we made it voluntarily but still there was quiet a group of people. That one hour what we spent together gave some stronger friendships, opportunities to be observer and part of lives up to this day.

So truly my heart is full of praises and thanks to God that He brought so many young people to the camp, so many of them made personal decisions and also how much He stretched me as well.

Smile and laugh with me at these pictures:

The preparation (card-boards and paints everywhere)

The key woman

One of the rooms' creative group picture

Opps... Kirsten got the package of salt to eat...

Chocolate in nappy :D

Classical muscle moves

Are you pushing girls to the pool??? So there!!! Eggs!!! :D

Sliding together is FUN!!!

More pictures:
Kids Camp 1. (200 pictures)
Kids Camp 2. (68)
Teens camp 1. (68)
Teens Camp 2. (199)
Teens Camp 3. (125)
Teens Camp 4. (119)
Teens Camp 5. (28)
Hike (18)

(The pictures were taken by Jessica Bowen, BIRD ON A WIRE PHOTOGRAPHY.)

People I give special thanks to God for...

The Page family

"We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people." (Paul - Col 1:3-4)

This is the way I think and pray for this family which set up a really high gage in gathering God's people around them and love them in the most natural way. They share almost everything with others, there is no difference between mine and yours. They are not perfect but still great examples of how they try to be more and more like Jesus.

Jessica Bowen

Mamma mia! Who has ever thought that 3 weeks could be so full of laughter, honesty, happy moments, cries, late night hours, wet clothes, movies, chips and chocolates, sentences started accidentally in Hungarian, paintings, seeing things in the clouds and of course copying everything I say with a Hungarian accent... :D God gives so abundantly that I just simply overflow...

Jess was our offical and professional summer camp photographer. "She is at ease as much as a flake." (I have a hard time to translate myself... all these slangs I use....) I am really thankful for her how God worked in me through her: she eased me, recalled the joy of the painting, showed me how to remain a woman even in the ministry and we became simple friends.

We hope and pray that she may come back to South Africa again and meet in Hungary as well! :)

Hillbrow

This is the heart of Johannesburg (In the 1970s it was an Apartheid-designated 'whites only' area but soon became a 'grey area', where people of different ethnicities lived together. The lack of investment led to an exodus of middle class residents so today the majority of the residents are migrants from the township, rural areas and the rest of Africa.). What I cannot reflect with any words, any pictures is the music of the city (others say noise), the dirt and mess everywhere... and of course the faces... Well, Hillbrow is in my daily Prayer Journal...

The first month

Word of Life events

1. Olympian Bible Club Kids Day - 330 kids, 50 adults and volunteers (October 23)

One day only for them and for their cheer. It was a huge day. The school that provided the place for us has decided to make its 140 students use the WOL Quiet Time Diary. Glory to God that they put a premium on the kids' spiritual life and they try to help them to have godly habits.


2. Bible Club Leaders' Fun Day (November 6)

In a family home there were more than 80 people. (I would like to mention how great example John and Christy Page, the WOL South Africa directors are opening their home and share what they have.) We tried to encourage them in their ministries, getting to know their struggles, how we can help them. On this day there were many funny moments. Just to mention one: I put the Hungarian lions to shame... :D

(Leading a game)

3. T-Junction (November 13) - evangelistic event

The match of two greatest national soccer teams (Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs) on screen with evangelism. However, we don't know about anybody making a decision, in the small groups we had an opportunity to encourage the believers to keep going on the narrow road. For me this day was a wonderful gift 'cas though my team (Pirates) lost, I got to know a lot of people and I was ice-skating as well!!! :)



Churches

I don't have a home church yet, so I am here and there... I substitute, help wherever there is need. So I had the privilege to teach teens in Sunday School in the Cloorkop Church, I taught kids in the Olympian Bible Club at Sandton, played with puppets in a kids' Christmas event... There are so many ministry opportunities where I could join. I am praying for God's guidance and wisdom to see where He wants me to use.

PICTURES - a little insight to (my) life here (I am sorry that I can't take a pic of everything. It's a bit a hard to live the moment and also take a picture of it. :)

1st week
2nd week
3rd week
4-5th week
(Timi is chumming up with the sushi... :)

In the next entry I am going to write about those people who God put into my life and who... yes, I love more and more.

My first prayer requests

Thank you very much for praying for me!!! You don't believe how great part you have in my life. I would like to share two new prayer requests with you that define my 9 months here.




1. Driving

Jo'burg is a huge city but the public transportation is very weak. That's why it is so important and urgent for me to be practiced in driving so I can go to minister alone and I am not stuck in the apartment (there are big distances so walking is not even an option) or I don't need to wait for others to take me.

In Hungary I didn't have any experience in driving (except breaking car...) and the good side of this is that hopefully it won't be such a big challenge to get used to driving on the other side. My goal is to practice every day and to drive very soon alone.

2. Church

I didn't have any idea what kind of church I would like to attend before I came here. But God didn't let me wait too long and put one on my heart.

Past weekend I was in a Missions Conference in my roommate's, Miriam's church. This is a pretty rich church which supports many missionaries differing from the South African practice (soon it can send out its very own missionary couple). At the meetings they got to share about their ministries. So I heard and saw a testimony of a Jo'burg church as well: what they are facing with, what blessings and struggles they have. Its pastor said - by the way, not really believing that ears would be open for it - that they need help. Not (only) financially but workers (the most urgent need right now is to teach kids reading in English). He also mentioned their outreach ministry which is a place where there is no running water, no electricity and every 5 house have one toilet.

(This shows even more to me as well how huge extremes there are in Jo'burg. Our neighborhood is middle class and it is totally normal to have pool in the backyard, electric lines for safety and also having black people as gardeners and cleaners.)

The update is getting a bit longer but I want you to see how the Lord is leading me, tiny little junk. I would have the temptation to chat about all kinds of things but God is really pushing me what you sent me out with: PEOPLE NEED THE LORD. I have never experienced such a strong calling (for what I was praying a lot because I really missed it from myself).

So I have no idea if the Lord allows me to go to that church and to serve there and for how long if yes but for sure so far He has answered all my prayers with encouraging verses:

- Security questions: "The Lord watches over you, the Lord is your shade at your right hand." Psalm 121:5 + "A man's riches may ransom his life, but a poor man hears no threat." Proverbs 13:8

- This church has only black members. God has reminded me of the picture: as they come to us and work for us, I should go to them as their white servant.

- "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." Hebrews 12:1-3

- "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." Jn 14:12

- Finally yesterday I got an e-mail from one of my friends. She reported on a preaching how much she was touched by that: "It was about the really well-known story what we have heard so many times: Peter went to Jesus walking on the water but from a different perspective. The point is that there are two kinds of disciples, one who stays in the boat and the other one who dares to step out of the boat." I was hit by it (again): I shouldn't be afraid but take the step in faith and walk in Jesus' footprints!!!

Please, pray for these things!!! Thank you!