Lion Park Adventure :)

Family and Friends,

Saturday morning we went to the Lion Park, which is about an hour away from where we are living.  At the park, we were able to go on a drive through the park where the lions were roaming free in their natural habitat.  On this adventure we saw giraffes, cheetahs, wild dogs, antelopes, zebras, ostriches, and most importantly lions.  While driving, we saw all of these animals then we later entered the lion exhibit.  This was a gated section of the park and was controlled by security guys that continued to keep the gates shut so the lions couldn't get out.  We drove down paved paths and the lions were walking all around us.  A few of them came right up to our windows and their heads were at the same height as our windows.  It was so magnificent being able to see these animals so close up and in their natural habitat.  It was so amazing to think of the reality that God created these animals and that they are all so different from each other.  It is also marvelous to think that he didn't have to create animals to be on this earth but has created them in a way where he is well pleased with them and we can now marvel at them.  Being in an environment like this just gave me even more reasons to marvel at how big our God is and how mighty he is.

                                          (Above is our team at the Lion Park on Saturday)

                                   (Above are some of the lions at the entrance of the exhibit)

  

(Above is the "king of the pack" marking his territory on a tree right next to my window)

After the drive through, we were able to enter the other part of the park.  This was an area with more animals and also an area where we were able to play with the lion cubs and to be hands on with them.  We were allowed 2 minutes in the lion cub area and were allowed to pet them and play with them.  After this, we were able to feed the giraffes and to look at the leopards, baby cheetahs, and meerkats.  This was a fun opportunity for our team to walk around together and just to hang out.  We had a lot of fun there and it was definitely something we will never be able to experience again.









(Top Right: Me with a lion cub at the hands on exhibit in the park)


(Left: My ministry partner Karlie and I at the Lion Park)


(Below:  Me right after I fed the giraffe and he came right up to us and was trying to nestle his head on us)



                                (Below: Me, Michaela, and Danielle next to the Meerkat exhibit)

                                    (Below: Jimmy, Mike, and Ben next to the Leopard exhibit)

*The day wasn't even over yet*

Saturday night, our team went out to dinner at a restaurant called Moyo. This is a very expensive steakhouse and we definitely got to experience the African culture.  In the restaurant, they had a guy walking around and playing live music along with 2 other men who played instruments.  They came to our table at one point and let us dance with them as they played South African songs.  Also, there was a guy who walked around and painted your face!  Each person on our team got their faces painted and it was a perfect opportunity for us to use our famous phrase "We're only in South Africa once".


(Above: Some of us at the dinner table at Moyo before we got our faces painted.
*Left to right* Carly, Danielle, Me, Michaela, and Ben)

(Left: All of the girls with the muscian men at Moyo)

(Below: Some of our team after they got their faces painted
*Left to right* Mike, Staci, Kyle, and Karlie)

 In a few weeks, we have a weekend long retreat called "Joint Winter Conference".  We are coming across a lot of barriers with students since it is the time of exams and students wanting to go home.  Please pray for boldness for our team as we continue to recruit for it and pray that God would soften the hearts of students and to give them the desire to want to invest in one weekend of their lives that could possibly change their eternity.


Please continue to pray for my team and I!  Pray that we would continue to strive to know God more and that he would daily sanctify us and make us more like himself.   Hope everyone is doing well!!!!

All the way from South Africa,
Love, Samantha

2 weeks down and time is flying!

Thank you for praying! God is doing so much here in South Africa both in and through our lives. We have already been here for 2 weeks and I can’t comprehend how fast 5 weeks will go if we are already this far into it.  We spent this past week as our first week on campus.  We have had the privilege of meeting men and women in the res halls and on campus.  Our team was privileged to have gotten the opportunity to get student ID cards.  This is the first time CCP students have ever gotten approved to get them.  This gives us the opportunity to eat in the dining halls and also to go into the recreational center.  The boys have had a chance to meet guys while playing sports and also by simply working out.  This also gives the girls an opportunity to do workout classes with girls we have met in the res halls.  This is a huge opportunity for us to meet students and also to have fun with them.  While I am here, I will be laboring in Sunnyside, which is an all girls res hall on campus.  There are 3 Wits girls that I have the privilege of laboring alongside and also Karlie, from IUPUI, who is my ministry partner and we get to meet girls together and invest in them.

(Below is a picture of myself and some of the girls that I have the privilege of laboring alongside in Sunnyside)

At ISU, we have weekly Campus Outreach meetings and at Wits they have the same exact thing.  Here, they call it High Definition (HD) and it is on Wednesday nights at 6pm.  This past Wednesday was the first one that we were able to attend.  We started HD off by singing a South African worship song, then went into doing a game.  The game was to see how well we knew our movies.  There were 3 teams, one team was 3 Wits girls, another was 3 Wits guys, and the other was 2 CCP members along with myself.  Of course, we won the game and were pretty proud of ourselves. A student then gave her testimony and shared with everyone how she came to know Jesus.  After that, our CCP director, Chad, gave a talk on “How do you know if you’re a Christian” and applied it to the song Skyfall by Adele.  He applied it well to the gospel and was able to give a clear representation of what it looks like to faithfully walk with God.  After the talk, we were able to sit and talk with students about what they thought about the talk and to spend time with them.

(Below is a picture of Karlie and I with some of the girls in Sunnyside at HD on Wednesday night)

On Saturday morning, we had a Braai at our house.  A Braai is a giant barbeque with lots of food and music.  These are huge in South Africa and are a big way that people use to get together and have fun.  We had different types of South African foods that everyone enjoyed.  The food went fast and we all went back for thirds.  We also had music and used the tennis courts in our front yard as a giant dance floor.  The Wits students taught us a few South African dances and we also taught them some of our dances.  Braais are so big here and it was such a privilege to be able to host one at our house and to invite our friends that we have met on campus.

Thank you so much for your prayers! We couldn’t do this without God and your prayers.  There are a few things that would be greatly appreciated for you to pray for. 

1)  Pray that we can continue to meet students and that God will provide time for us to hang out with them and be able to learn about their lives and their culture. 

2      2) Pray for good fellowship with my teammates and that we will all continue to grow in our walks with God together.

3      3) Pray for strength to continue to invest my life into girls on campus even when I may feel tired or mentally drained. 

I hope everyone is doing well! Feel free to comment on these posts and let me know how I can also pray for you!  Any encouragement is also welcomed.  Love you all!

In Christ Alone,

Samantha

  

Exploring Jo'burg

Family and Friends,

It has been such a blessing to be able to have finally made it to Johannesburg.  I am so excited to see what else God has in store, since he has already blessed us with so many experiences.

Our theme for the summer is "Unafraid" and our theme verse is Ephesians 2:10 "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."  Our prayer is that we are daily being refueled by God's word and the truth of Jesus, that we will then be unafraid to go and tell the students of Wits the gospel.  We are daily praying for this and our hope is that you will pray for it with us.  

This week, we have had the opportunity to explore Jo'burg a little bit and experience some fun cultural things.  On Saturday, we attended an Orlando Pirates Futbol game.  This has been something I have wanted to do for years and we had a lot of fun.  Even though they endured a loss of 0-1, we had a great time as a team.  It gave us a great opportunity to hang out and to just spend time having fun together.  Below is a picture of our team at the game during halftime.

 Below is a picture of our house and where we are all living.  On the left side of the house is a pool, but it is too cold for swimming.  Also, in front of the house are tennis courts and I have already played once.  Basically, I'm living in paradise! :) 

 Yesterday, we went to campus for the first time and were able to walk around with some of the South African girls and meet other students and go on a small tour of campus.  This was super exciting and it was great to finally be able to see how school is for them here and to build sweet friendships with students.  We are on campus from 2pm to 9pm Monday through Friday and usually eat dinner with them also. It has been a great experience for all of us and we look forward to spending more time with these students and with their friends.  Please continue to pray that we can build trusting friendships with the students here and then be able to share the good news of Jesus Christ with them.  God is already doing big things through our team and we are excited to see what else he has in store for us.  Below is a picture of all the girls before leaving for our first day of campus.

Prayer Requests:

1) Please pray that we are spending time in God's word and soaking up truth each morning before we  start our day.  Then that out of the overflow of our hearts, we will share this good news with others.
2) Please pray that we live out Romans 1:16 and are unashamed of the gospel.  Pray for boldness and that we are Unafraid to go and tell others about Jesus.
3) Pray that we continue to soak up everything here and our time that we have with the girls on Wits campus.  We only have 6 weeks left and we want to make the most of it! 

In Christ,
Samantha

Hello from South Africa

We have made it safely!  Our team arrived in Johannesburg (Jo'burg) yesterday afternoon.  We have already had the privilege of making friends with people here and experiencing small parts of the culture.  I would love to tell you in great detail what we have already experienced, but my time to update you is limited.  We have a lot planned for the day, but I wanted to inform everyone that we are safely here and are slowely settling into our home. 

Our team is staying at a Bed and Breakfast.  We have 3 rooms: 1 room for the guys and 2 rooms for the girls.  Each room has its own bathroom and we are settling in comfortably. 

We ate pizza for dinner last night and their pizza is like something I've never tasted before.  Also, today we went to a cafe and tried burgers and fries.  The food here is not made with as many preservatives as food is in America and so everything is sweet and is healthier for you!

We also attended the Apartheid Museum this morning and were able to see different views of what exactly the Apartheid was and how it affected the South Africans here.  We also went to a separate museum that was all about Nelson Mandella and to see the impact he has had on this country is absolutely unbelievable.

This is only the start of our adventure and I can't wait to share more with you as my summer continues! Please keep praying for my team and I and drawing near to the throne of grace!

With Love,
Samantha

Prayer Requests as we prepare to leave!

Family and Friends,

My team and I leave for South Africa in 4 days! We are so overwhelmed by Gods provision and are extremely thankful that he has raised all of our support! We could not have gotten to this point without you, your love and support, prayers, and thoughtful financial doantions, so thank you very much! As I prepare to leave for Johannesburg, there are many things that I need to do.  I have a lot of packing to do and a lot of errands to run, but the biggest thing I have been doing is soaking South Africa up in prayer.  My hope is that you will join me in this!  We will be laboring on the college campus of University of Wits (pronounced Vits).  We will be pouring our lives into college students on that campus.  It has been my hope to already start praying for the lives that we come in contact with and for South Africa as a whole.  Pray for the lives of the students on that campus and that God would soften their hearts to the gospel.  We are excited to invest 7 weeks into other students and to selflessly give everything we have to further the kingdom of God. 

I have a few prayer requests below.  A few weeks ago we spent the weekend as a team together for our South Africa retreat.  We joined together and as a team came up with 4 "Trust Gods".  These are things that we are praying for the entire summer and are trusting God that he will do these in and through our lives.  It would mean the world to my team and I if you joined us in praying for these things and clinging to truth in the midst of it! Pray with me!

1.  That each of us would know and enjoy Jesus daily. (Psalm 63:3)

2. That God would raise-up lifelong laborers through our team this summer. We are praying specifically for 13 students to come to know Jesus. (Matthew 9:36, Romans 1:16)

3. That we would grow in team unity. (Hebrews 10:24-25, Proverbs 27:17)

4. That we would grow in personal and world vision. (Psalm 67:4)

I'm so excited to share about this summer and my experiences with you as I embark on my journey to Johannesburg, South Africa! Draw near to the throne of grace with prayer alongside of me! Thanks for your love and support!

Love,
Samantha