The Grand Finale :)

2 days left here and I am beyond blessed! There is so much to update you on but I will give you a small glimpse of our last week here!  

This past weekend we attended the Joint Winter Conference (JWC) in Magaliesburg, South Africa.  This was a weekend full of talks about the Gospel, time to spend with girls and fun events.  The theme of the retreat was “The Link”.  The speaker talked about how there are many events in our lives that God links together to make something great and magnificent.  Those events are hard at times, but in the end, God does things that show you more of him and draw you closer to his throne.  He does all things for a reason and even in those rough times, he is glorified.  Karlie and I had 4 girls go with us and it was a great time to get conversations with them and to really see God move through our lives while we are ending our time here.  Thanks so much for prayers, they are definitely being answered!

(Below are pictures of me and some of the girls at JWC)

(Below is a picture of me bridge swinging in Magaliesburg! One of the coolest things I’ve ever done)

(Below is me, Maira, and Carly before we went bridge swinging)

After a long weekend at JWC, we spent 3 days at a resort as a team.  At this resort we were able to truly experience more of South Africa.  Each day there were 2 safaris that you could go on.  This was a 57,000 acre piece of land where animals roamed freely.  Throughout our stay there, I went on 5 safaris.  This was one of the coolest things I will ever be able to do and if you know my love for elephants, you will be so excited for me.  I got to see elephants multiple times and sometimes they were right next to the road where I could probably touch one if I wanted to.  Along with elephants we saw giraffes, lions, rhinos, hippos, buffalo, leopards, pumas, wildebeests, kudus, and springboks. 

(Below are pictures from our time at the resort and our time on the safaris)

 (This is our team with our 2 safari guides)

  

(Above is the first elephant I saw on the safari)

As we approach the end, I have a few prayer requests but first, I want to say thank you! Thanks for investing in my life and my trip to South Africa.  It has been an amazing adventure and God has grown me in ways I never imagined.  I have seen my life be transformed by the gospel and I know God is daily continuing to sanctify me and make me more like Jesus.  Thanks for prayers and for loving me so well! I can’t say thank you enough! 

Prayer Requests:

1. Pray that we enjoy the rest of our time here as we spend time together as a team and in South Africa. 
2. We are going to Alex, which is a township living in poverty, tomorrow morning.  Please pray that our eyes will be opened to the reality of the physical needs of those in SA.

3. Pray for safe travels and that God will protect us as we embark on a 17 hour plane ride back to America.

See you very soon!  

 Love, Samantha

Go and Make Disciples of All Nations

This has been one of the sweetest weeks we’ve had, and as we approach the end, it is getting harder and harder to leave.  We have 2 weeks left and only 4 days left on campus, where has time gone?  Even though our time here is coming to an end, God continues to do big things.  This past weekend, Karlie and I had the privilege of seeing one of the girls we’ve been investing in give her life to Christ.  She comes from a family who practices Ancestor worship and when we first met her, she was so interested in learning about Christianity.  After many conversations about the gospel, who Jesus is, and our need for him, she committed her life to him on Sunday.  This was so sweet for Karlie and I because God didn’t have to use us but has chosen to bring us here, introduce us to our sweet friend Yezee, and then share the most important news she will ever hear with her.  Please pray for her as she starts her walk with the Lord and pray that he continues to give her the desire to read his word, fight her sin, and tell others about him. 

(Below is Karlie and I with Yezee after she gave her life to Christ at church on Sunday morning.)

This past weekend, our team took a trip to Soweto, South Africa.  This is the city where Nelson Mandela lived for many years.  We went to the house that him and his family lived in before he was put into prison.  We were able to see his house, learn more about his background and his family, and also see what houses are like in South Africa.  As an American, I commonly forget how privileged I am and how much I have compared to people in other places of the world.  Driving through Soweto, our eyes were opened to the reality that there are families of 8 living in a small two bedroom house with their bathroom in their backyard.  It is definitely a reality that not all of us in the world are as blessed as us in America. 

(Below is our team in front of Nelson Mandelas house on the same day he entered the hospital)

After going to Mandelas house, we went to a local restaurant called Wandies.  This is a buffet type restaurant inside a house in Soweto.  This is a place where many celebrities come to eat when they visit South Africa.  You can write on the wall and make your mark that you were there.  We had the opportunity to write our names on the wall and to enjoy tons of good food.  They had many different African type foods there like beef curry, samp and rice, pumpkin (as a vegetable not a dessert), chicken liver, chicken, and yummy vegetables. 

                                                (Below is a picture of Wandies in Soweto)

             (Below is a picture of where I made my mark) *Samantha CCP 2013*

          (Below is a picture of Mike and Carly writing on the wall inside Wandies)

This upcoming weekend is the Joint Winter Conference.  We are leaving Saturday morning at 10am and will be back on Monday afternoon around 2pm.  This will be a weekend packed with rallies, soccer, fun activities, and time to hang out with the girls that are coming with us.  There are 3 girls going with Karlie and I so please pray for fun time with them and also intentional conversations.  Pray for each of the students that are going not just from Wits but also from UJ Kingsway, UJ Bunting, and Tuks.  Pray that God will open ears of those that are hearing the talks and also that their eyes would be opened to the gospel and their need for Jesus.  I look forward to updating you on how it goes and the big things that God does in just 3 days in Magaliesburg, South Africa.

Thanks for your continuous support and prayers for my team and I.  God is doing great things and even though we only have 2 weeks left, we have complete faith that we will see God do much more in that short amount of time!

Prayer Requests:

  - Pray for JWC and that God will open the eyes and hearts of many of the students attending.  Also, that he would use our CCP team as a vessel to share the great news of Jesus Christ.

 -Pray for intimacy with Christ! We enjoy the 3 hours in the morning in Gods word each day, but please pray that we don’t just scratch the surface of scripture but that we truly dig down deep and apply it to our lives!
 - Pray we use these last 4 days on campus all for God’s glory and not our own.

With Love from South Africa,

Samantha

Living Unafraid - Ephesians 2:10

We're halfway through and I can't believe it!  Thanks for your continuous love and support for my team and I.  It has definitely been an adventure and we are continuing to see God do so many things here in South Africa.

God has been doing so many things on campus through the lives of myself and my team.  The guys are able to spend each day in the gym and also playing sports outside with students.  This has become a great way for them to connect with Wits students and to get good conversations with them outside of working out.  All of the girls have had a great opportunity to get into the dorms and to meet plenty of students and to build deep friendships with them.  God is continuing to give us sweet friendships and is using them all for his glory.

Next weekend, we have a retreat called Joint Winter Conference (JWC).  This is a 3 day long retreat where students from 4 different campuses come and spend a weekend hearing God's word, enjoying fellowship, and doing fun activities like talent shows and bridge jumping (which I will definitely be doing).  We will have 4 different rallys which there will be speakers giving talks on God's word and sharing what it looks like to walk with God and the sweet news of Jesus Christ.  Karlie and I have 4 girls from Sunnyside going with us as of right now.  Please pray that girls will continue to want to sign up and that God will soften the hearts of girls to desire to spend a weekend of their lives that can potentially transform and change their eternity.  We will have a lot of down time there where we can spend time with these girls and have deep spiritual conversations with them, so please pray God gives us conversation opportunities and that we soak them up. 

Each week, Karlie and I have had the chance to do bible studies in Sunnyside and we have had good turnouts each time.  We have one tonight and one next Tuesday night.  Please pray for these that God will continue to work in these girls lives and that they will desire to know more about Jesus and that they will see that He is the only one who can fully satisfy. We have had great conversations so far and are continuing to pray that God will use our lives on campus and in Sunnyside specifically.
                               
                                 (Below is Yezee with the bible that Karlie and I bought her)

As a team, we have 2 weeks left on campus, which gives us 9 days including today to invest in men and womens lives and to share the most important news they will ever hear with them.  Please pray that we are "Unafraid" and that we continue to completely give our lives away and dont waste away these last few days we have been given.

       (Below is some of the CCP girls along with some Sunnyside girls we've built friendships with)

On Saturday, we attended a professional rugby game.  This was really fun for all of us to do.  Before we came to South Africa, we learned how to play rugby as a team.  It was a good time for us to hang out but also to apply the small amount of knowledge we have on this sport to watching an actual game.  Below are some pictures of my team and I at the Lions game.

On Sunday, the guys took all of the girls on a group date.  They took us to get frozen yogurt, which is one of the only places in Jo'burg that has froyo.  At the frozen yogurt place, we did speed dating and just got good time to get to know each other more.  After that we did a scavenger hunt around the mall and this was fun and gave us an awesome opportunity to get out of our comfort zone.  That night, we went to a place called Carnivore.  This is a really high class steakhouse and they start off the meal by giving you bread and soup and then they bring out a salad bar to your table.  From there, they come around with food on skewers and they put it over your plate and give you how ever much meat you want.  There are 12 different meats that you can try and almost everyone on our team tried everything.  Some of the foods we tried: (Crocodile, Lamb, Antelope, Chicken Liver, Impala, Venison Sausage, Pork Sausage, Ribs, Chicken, Eland, Rump Steak, and Venison Meatballs).  They then serve dessert and lets just say, by the end of the meal, we were all extremely full but also extremely satisfied.
                                   (Below are some pictures of my team and I at Carnivore.)

We have had the time of our lives so far and are excited for these next 3 weeks.  We are blown away by the prayer requests that God has answered.  He has done so much in our lives and also through our lives.  We are all learning what it looks like to really strive to know Jesus more and out of the overflow of knowing him, we will want to love others and to share about that love with them.  Please continue to pray for my team and myself especially.

Prayer Requests:
1) Pray we strive to know God more deeply each day!
2) Pray we invest our lives these last 2 weeks on campus and don't waste it.
3) Pray for intentional conversations with girls on campus.
4) Pray for the girls we are taking to JWC and the girls that want to go.  (Specifically pray for  Yezee, Cheryl, Joy, Zee, and Dee).

In Christ Alone,
Samantha