We painted the town red! Well, perhaps not quite :) Our Acts 29 outreach for 2022 was last month in the city of Durban on the east coast of South Africa. Durban has a fairly tropical climate and we had moderate temperatures with very high humidity for our stay. The Airbnb we rented for the team was on the ocean cliffs and we had a spectacular view watching humpback whales and dolphins from the deck. Since many of the students had never seen the ocean before, they were all screaming when we arrived!
We
partnered with a local church, Glenwood Community Church, in ministry
activities throughout the week. They
were an amazing host and great friendships were developed since some of their
members joined us in our outreach activities.
The team with Glenwood Community Church members
After
an 11-hour drive from Mafikeng on Saturday, Oct 8th, the church hosted us for a
quick meet and greet on Saturday night and then turned over their Sunday
worship service to our team. I was
blessed to play the guitar for the worship and 4 of our students led the
singing. Timothy, a theology student at
NWU, then gave the sermon on having “Beautiful Feet”.
Leading worship
During
the week we spent time at a local university, Durban University of Technology,
witnessing to their students, taught workshops at the church on sharing the
gospel and developing a personal testimony, helped serve at a sidewalk soup
kitchen and shared the gospel/prayed with those coming for a meal, and went on
outreaches with Durban Inner City Mission.
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| The sidewalk soup kitchen |
Durban
Inner City Mission is a ministry started by several local Baptist churches to
serve those living in the city center as well as the sailors in the
harbour. Part of their ministry is
through a free Christian newspaper called the Challenge. We were able to help
deliver these newspapers to inner city apartment complexes and shops in one
area and also used them to spark conversations with people at a local park. Since most apartment complexes are not
accessible for security reasons, the newspaper provides a way to reach those
living there.
Sharing the gospel at City Hall
Also,
every Thursday evening, they send teams out to do street ministry and visit
homeless shelters in the city. Our group
joined with their regulars to visit the South Beach area to visit/pray with
those living on the street there, help with a regular Bible study for the
homeless in a park in North Beach, and visit with people at The Nest homeless
shelter. It was an eye-opening experience for many of
our students.
But
it wasn’t all work and no play. We
managed to visit the botanical garden and spend a few hours at the beach. For most of the students this was their first
time at a beach and swimming in the ocean.
Due to strong currents, sewage contamination, rocks, there are only a select
areas where swimming is allowed. They
place two flags about 100 yards apart and you can only go into the water
between the flags. Most people don’t
really swim, they just stand in the water and enjoy the waves.
Part of the team enjoying the Indian Ocean - Merlicia, Kamo, Frank, Timothy, Wes, Beth, and Thandi
The sea also has a role in many non-biblical religious ceremonies and people were coming to the beach to “wash” in the sea for cleansing and protection. They also take the sea water home with them to add to bath water, since they believe it is of benefit spiritually. The traditional healers (sangomas/witch doctors) also have many ceremonies at the ocean and we saw them several times. It aways grieves my heart to see people caught up in such bondage.
Our
long drive back to Mafikeng the following Friday was filled with many sleeping
students sprawled over the car seats and even a bit of snoring.
It
was such a blessing to see the Acts 29 students so eager to share the gospel in
many different situations even when it was far out of their comfort zone. Please pray that the experiences they had in
Durban will continue to touch their heart and the hearts of those we met
there.
