Africa gives me hope.

I’ve been meaning to write a blog for a few days now, but I wasn’t quite sure what the Lord wanted me to say or how I would put into words everything God is doing in me and in this place. I say none of this to glorify myself in any way, but to make known how GREAT our GOD is!! The more I am challenged to put my faith in my God and not in the things of this world or my own strength, the more freedom He has in my life to show up in mighty ways. It has been my prayer that God would break open the box I try to keep Him in, that He would shatter my attempts to make Him feeble and unable and reveal WHO He is - Healer, Provider, Protector, Savior, Friend!

Heb 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

hope: noun

1 a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen

• a person or thing that may help or save someone

• grounds for believing that something good may happen

2 a feeling of trust

Walking with God in South Africa gives me HOPE.

I have HOPE that God is always GOOD,

always WORKING,

always in the midst of whatever we’re going through

and holding our hand

whether we’re dancing for joy

or barely hanging on.

I believe that He has given us hope so that we will expect great things from an unbelievably great God. I have tasted and seen that the Lord is good, and I choose to put my hope in HIM.

What has God been doing here, you may ask? Well, let me brag on my Savior!

• We had a divine appointment on a random walk to learn of a sweet daughter of the King who had heard some lies from the enemy and wound up in the hospital. Praise God that He is bigger than hospital visiting hour rules and big scary security guards and can bring healing and restoration whenever He choses! We were able to pray over and speak life into our sister despite the obstacles. I have hope that He who is in us is greater than He who is in the world and Jesus always gets the victory.

• Each week at our soup kitchen in Avian Park, God faithfully makes sure each hungry belly gets food no matter how many kids we round up with their “buckes” (bowls...or tupperware, or empty ice cream containers, whatever they have) for “kos”(food). We gather with precious children and sing praises to our great High Priest who is so aware of and familiar with our needs. It hurts my heart to see the way these children live, but it gives me hope that Jesus can redeem any situation and bring light to shatter any darkness.

• I got to spend a day in Cape Town with Eva while Fola visited friends at the Lausanne Conference....what a beautiful city! We ate delicious food while overlooking the beach and had REAL coffee and yummy dessert and some much needed girl time. AND God totally surprised me and blessed me when I ran into a friend from UF at the conference! It was definitely a specific answer to prayer and so encouraging. I have hope that God knows this heart that He created and He works all things for my good.

• He is teaching me the art of following those who are wiser than I instead of always being in charge or constantly on a schedule. I am learning obedience and patience in very real ways...it’s definitely not always easy! I have hope that I will not leave Africa as the same person that came here 5 weeks ago.

• It’s Holy Spirit week at the YWAM base which means we get lots of teachings about the power and presence of the Spirit. We had an incredible night in the presence of the Spirit; the glory of the Lord was so intense and so so real! And we had a giving night, where people gave things to each other as an act of worship. Some gave encouraging gifts, some gave precious heirlooms, one girl received her first pair of gold earrings in her life from a dear woman who got them when she lived in Jordan (she was robbed and they were one of the few pieces of fine jewelry that weren’t taken), people received money and cameras and cell phones and funds for a car! My small act of giving brought a lot of giggles...my friend Janel (from Montreat College!) gave our sister Peggy (here with a team from YWAM in Texas) her watch when Peggy mentioned that she had forgotten to pack hers. This summer when I was in California I lost my watch and had to purchase a new one. When I was packing for Africa I found my old watch and wound up bringing both. As I watched Janel give Peggy her watch, I realized God had given me two watches so that I could give one away! We laughed and prayed together and thanked God that He could unite our hearts in such a simple yet profound way. I have hope that God sees the heart of our giving and is in the midst of our simple acts of worship before a holy God.

• I met a girl named De-monique in one of the areas we were ministering in a few days ago. She was 12 and so full of life - we became best friends instantly. She kept her arm around me for most of the time we were there, until her friends dragged her off to play in a ditch. When the Texas team started their street drama, I went to find her because I felt like she really needed to see and hear the message they were presenting (I hadn’t seen it yet but I heard it was powerful!) At the end, De-monique gave her life to the Lord and I got to hug her as she prayed for Jesus to come into her heart! She only let 2 little tears run down her cheek, but it was so evident that Jesus had entered her heart and made her a new creation in that instant. I have hope that I’ll see her again and that she will continue to grow in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man, because our God is good and He has written De-monique’s name on His hand and in His book of Life!

• I HAVE HOPE because as hard as my first two weeks here were, the past three have been three times as sweet! I definitely miss my family and friends like crazy, but God is filling the hurting places with Himself and nurturing a love and passion for this place and these people. Whether I’m teaching cheerleading, grading math exams (just finished grading a 3 page exam for 37 students...whoo!), holding and hugging sweet children, or just hanging out with Simile and Halo coloring in our princess coloring book and looking at my pictures, I LOVE living in South Africa! I came across this blog http://allthingshendrick.blogspot.com/ and was so comforted to know that other people have felt the same way I have when moving to a new country...the first few weeks are “Really Lord??” and then He changes our hearts to say “REALLY! LORD!” I have HOPE that God is doing a good thing here!

Can I just encourage you to put your hope in Christ? Colossians 1 tells us that Christ in us is the hope of glory. Romans 12 says that we should be joyful in hope! The Word encourages us over and over again to put our hope in God, in His promises and His faithfulness. Hebrews 6:19 says “We have this HOPE as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain”. Oh that our HOPE in the Lord would draw us deeper and deeper into the presence of and communion with the Living God! Thank You, Jesus, that You are our hope and that we walk through this life with our name written on Your hands. That, my friends, gives me hope.

standing in the gap

My first full week in the classroom after the concert craziness has been just that - FULL! Rather than teaching all 7th grade maths, I’m now working specifically with 7.5, a class of 36 7th grade students that are taught in English for all 7 periods. (Each grade in Worcester Primary School - WPS - has 4 classes. .1 and .2 classes are taught in Afrikaans, with the .1s being the higher achievers, and .4 and .5 classes taught in English, with .4s being the higher achievers) My students come from a variety of socioeconomic groups and ethnicities - Afrikaans, Xhosa, Portuguese and Arabic to name a few. There is one white boy, a few Indian students, 5 Muslims, and the rest are split between Afrikaans colored and Xhosa black students. They are the “lower achieving group” of the two English-taught 7th grade classes and they are known as the trouble-makers.

I.LOVE.THEM.

At first, I was quite intimated to hear their reputation in the school and then to be told that I’ll be with them from 7:30am-1:30pm every day. Granted, there is another teacher in the room most of the time, but sometimes it’s just me and them...just one of me and 36 of them. To say I am relying on God’s grace is not an understandment, but God is giving me a glimpse of His heart for them. It hurts my heart to see the despair in some of their eyes and to hear them talk about how they know people don’t think they’ll amount to much. God has given them passions and dreams and He has created them to be wonderful, unique, incredible individuals with hopes and gifts - I BELIEVE that He has SO much more for them than the implied limits that have been holding them captive.

God gave me 1 Tim 2:1 in the staff room on Thursday. It says “I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them, intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them.” He also reminded me of Col 4:2-6, verses I hung on to my first summer on FCC staff. I know He is calling me to standing in the gap for these kids. I desperately want to breathe HOPE back into 7.5. They are such funny kids, and although they talk ALL the time, they have a voice worth hearing (just preferably not while a teacher is talking) and dreams that deserve a chance to be lived out! And they really aren’t all trouble makers. I love them. I’m praying God will continue to grow my heart for them and that He’ll be able to reach out and love them as I lay me down and let Him have His way in my life.

Will you join me in praying for 7.5? Pray that God’s light would burst into that class, that chains of poverty and false religion would be shattered and that these students would be an example of Christ’s love to each other and to their school. Pray that they would know the power and the unfailing love of our Savior.

Yute-Ludumo-Tiffany-Tsep-Thando-Lutho-Ricardo-Adiaan-Enzo-Tarryn-Ovayo-Ayyoob-Margo-Jody-Yasar-Andisiwe-Farzanah-Previn-Petronella-Sisipho-Phumeza-Khanysia-Zintle-Mmasebolelo-Leloka-Dimpho-Sanele-Zikhona-Uquamile-Basheera-Pritesh-Stuart-Ayaka-Wilmay-Z’nita-Carla

put on the full armor!

Oh, what to say! My first full week in school was wonderful - tiring, but wonderful. I LOVE the teachers I’m working with and I’ve been blessed with some really great conversations and encouraging words spoken into my life by sisters in Christ. We start every morning in the Word as a staff (and it’s NOT a Christian school!) and then we share a word with our students. Its awesome. I’ve never been in a school where anything like this has happened so it’s been really fun for me! This week the school put on a concert/play and I earned a spot as a make-up artist. I loved getting face time with the kids and talking to them outside of my teacher role. (They call me Teacher Sara, and once again my 5th graders informed me that my name means princess so they should call me Teacher Princess. I told them I’d respond to either. :) ) I start teaching grade 7 math on Monday and I’m really pumped to get to know these kids better and speak into their lives.

This week I’ve been battling doubt. Really, it’s something I’ve battled for a while now, but it became really apparent this week. “Lord, I do believe...help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9) has been my cry. I want to pray and NOT doubt that what I’m praying for WILL happen. I’ve been so tempted to think “What if God doesn’t come through? What if I pray for this healing/fear/whatever and it doesn’t happen the way I’m hoping?” Today in church the Lord spoke directly to this. We read through Eph 6:10-18 (one of the arrangement was a complete set of armor made from bamboo and flowers!) The Lord revealed to me that when we’re not in prayer and ready for battle, the enemy gets the victory. Satan wants to make the warriors of Light doubt their God and fear that God may be weak, that the God in whom they trust may not fight for them.

But friends, the God of the Angel Armies fights for us!! Hallelujah! We can TRUST that God is standing with us -Psalm 59 - and that the victory IS the Lords....scripture tells us this over and over! (And I’ve learned that when God really wants us to get something, He doesn’t just say it once. He repeats it throughout His word across both testaments to remind us that HE IS FAITHFUL to be who He says He is!) We have to put on the full armor of the Lord and be ready for battle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=re5t4GOYBn8

I have seen God come and stand before my fears and slowly but surely begin to melt them away. I have heard the testimonies of what He is doing here in Worcester. And I want to be a part. I want to fight for the kingdom and be a warrior of light, confident that my God will come through for me. And no matter what, He will get the glory when our hearts are humbled and our minds fixed on Him. Amen.

for those of you who love sending snail mail

Write me! You can send mail to the base:

YWAM Worcester

Attn: Sara Norton
2 Luyt Street - Hospital Hill
Worcester 6850
Western Cape - South Africa

LOVE YOU & MISS YOU more than you could know! Psalm 103

How GREAT is our GOD!

(Disclaimer: This blog is me being transparent, and it may be long.)

Psalm 33 declares...By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, their starry hosts by the breath of His mouth....The word of the Lord is right and true, He is faithful in all He does. The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of His unfailing love...We wait in HOPE for the Lord, He is our HELP and our SHEILD. In HIM our hearts rejoice, for we TRUST in His holy name.

Isaiah 40: 26-29
Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens; Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of His GREAT POWER and MIGHTY STRENGTH not one of them is missing.
Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord, my cause is disregarded by my God”?
Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will NOT grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary and increase the power of the weak.

Man oh man. This past week and a half has been one of the craziest of my life, I think. Coming to Africa was the beginning of seeing a year and a half (if not more) of dreaming begin to come to fruition. It’s been beautiful and messy and joyful and scary and a whole other mess of emotions that I don’t even know how to put into words (which, a lot of times, has meant they just flow out of my eyes).

The biggest struggle for me has been the lack of communication with family and friends back home. I’m huge on community, and its been something I’ve been praying about pretty much since I realized I was coming here alone. While God has definitely been providing people here to laugh with and interact with, my heart is still desperately missing those who know me best and know my heart. This is a new struggle for me; I’m never a homesick person. I definitely believe that this IS where God has me and that He IS working for my good and His glory and I trust that in declaring these promises constantly that He is teaching me to die to myself daily.

Dying to myself is something I’ve been struggling with for a while...what that looks like in my life and how I can daily take up my cross. Thank goodness I don’t have to rely on my own strength to do it! God is so much more than I can imagine, in ALL aspects of my life. He sees my hurting heart, and it is not too much trouble for Him to remind me that I’m cradled in His hand and I’ve never left that place. I believe God is sifting me (Luke 22:31) and revealing places of disobedience and selfishness in my own heart so that I can know Him more and do the work He has for me to do. I know that there are so many others, even in my own life, who are struggling with much heavier things than this, but I also know that the God who created the heavens also miraculously created my heart and He knows exactly what He’s doing in me, even if I don’t.

I am realizing that this has been harder than I expected because I thought I could handle it. I thought I was as prepared as I could be and that I had an idea of what I was getting myself into. And I’ve done things on my own before, I’ve been in unfamiliar places where I knew no one, I can handle myself adversity and stress pretty well. And that’s exactly the problem. How many times did you just read “I”? I was emailing a friend when I reread what I wrote and realized that I’ve been thinking this is about me and how I can do great things here in Worcester. WOW. Wrong.

I had Saturday morning to myself to seek the Lord and be refreshed. As I searched for truth, He gently spoke these things to me:

Sara. Daughter. It’s NOT about you. It’s about ME.
It’s my grace that has brought you this far.
It’s my grace that will continue to carry you.
Won’t you just TRUST me? Not what you can see or what you feel...ME.
I am I AM.
It’s okay to feel like this, but let Me carry you. You’re not doing this alone. You weren’t made to do this alone. You feel inadequate because you are...without ME.

Because of Him, I come alive. May it be His heart in me beating.

(Rebecca - you go girl!! I can’t believe you’re launching into this incredible journey...its been a long time coming and I’ve been blessed to be a part of who Jesus is in you for the past 3 years. I’m so proud of and excited for you! I LOVE YOU and can’t wait to hear about how you RELEASE the Kingdom in Jesus’ name!
http://www.rebeccaweaver.theworldrace.org)