Tomato Basil Reflections

“It’s hard to leave. Over the last three weeks I’ve seen so many beautiful things, met so many beautiful people, and have seen the Lord’s love and faithfulness through it all. It has been an absolute privilege leaving a bit more of my heart here.”

I wrote the quote above in my journal at the Johannesburg, South Africa airport a few weeks ago. Having some extra time before my flight, I grabbed a chair at a restaurant and ordered a cup of tomato basil soup with the last of the local cash I had on me. I pulled out my journal to write some final thoughts about my time in Africa.

When I travel to Africa I get to meet so many wonderful people serving in some awesome ways. Here’s some highlights from this trip:

• In Lesotho I stayed with a gentleman named Pieter who moved there from South Africa. He invites Basotho youth and young adults to live in his home and minister alongside him in a rural area of Lesotho. With hopes that they one day will step into a ministry of their own, he teaches and disciples them daily.
• There’s a ministry in Port Elizabeth that started a feeding program with just a few sandwiches and now feeds nearly 100 homeless people every day. People come hungry, and they are fed physically and spiritually.
• There were 140 World Race missionaries who gathered in one place for a gathering we called the Awakening. These people volunteered to abandon their lives at home and go to the nations because they had a hunch that the Lord has something more for them. He does. And their stories are incredible. Read their blogs here.
• I could talk for hours about several families who welcome young missionaries into their homes for months at a time with a desire to make an impact on their lives as they serve together. I learned that sometimes the most powerful thing in ministry is a group of believers at the kitchen table.

 

It is such a joy & such a privilege to know these people! Look at what the Lord is doing there! Read it again if you have to!

This is what’s on my heart to share with you today. There are incredible people doing incredible things in incredible places in the name of Jesus Christ. It is an absolute blessing to be able to witness what the Lord is doing worldwide through people who have faithfully stepped out and said “yes”.

I hope it’s clear that I love what I get to do. This is more than a career or something to fill my time until the next thing comes along. I have the privilege to stand beside amazing people as they do incredible things for the Kingdom. I have been in this role for about a year, and see myself here a couple more years.

This is where I need your help. Raising support is an essential part of my ministry at Adventures in Missions. God has been so faithful here in the past and I am grateful. However, at this time I’m in need of around $3,000 to get back on track to meet the commitment I’ve made to raise $12,000 this year. Would you please pray about making a one-time gift or becoming one of my monthly supporters? You can begin supporting this ministry by clicking this link.

If you have any questions at all about how to give or about the ministry I get to do, please email me at [email protected]. I would love to share with you. Also, I will be in Iowa for much of April and we can connect in person then. Thank you so much!

Me and some of our ministry hosts at the Awakening

Men of World Race Gap Year

Worship at Awakening

A few of the people who helped make the Awakening happen!