Hello everyone!
We made it to South Africa. We’ve been here about 2 weeks now which has given the squad time to settle in to how the next 6 weeks will look like. I had a little better idea of how it will look since I have been here before. Ministry for the guys so far is manual labor! To give you an idea I ask if you have ever seen the movie “Holes”. If not I strongly recommend looking it up and reading about the movie, HA! That is basically what we do all day.
We have the opportunity with this type of work to view it in two ways. The dark, detrimental, always tiring, never fruitful, unenthusiastic outlook, or in the light.
We were graced by the ministry staff here. They casted the vision for what we will be doing for them at the beginning and it set us on fire. We stay on about a 25-30 acre property with a private Christian school in spitting distance. Everything we see on this property, including the land, has been a gift from the Lord. Every piece of grass, building, pre-school, and sports field was all from generous donors that were moved just like y’all to give for the fundraising of my trip. I thought that was super cool. Back to the vision. They showed us what they have planned for the next few years and it sounds amazing. They have this whole design of gardens and concrete sidewalk paths that is supposed to create an atmosphere for people (business men and women) to have encounters with the Lord, or sit in prayer in a beautiful place. There’s so much more but that’s the gist.
The other part of the ministry we work on is digging trenches with shovels and pick axes for water lines to be put in on the allotted property that will be used to build 56 homes for missionaries returning home, their parents, and teachers here in South Africa. How cool!!
What I’ve seen and felt in these past 2 weeks is so much different that my last time here. I learned that with the proper vision and the proper people to cast that vision you can empower anyone to be enthusiastic about manual labor. The Lord has filled us with strength and joy and respect for the work we are doing. He created an atmosphere for me and the other guys to be working in the light instead of the dark and I love it and thank him for it!
I ask that wherever you are in your walk with the Lord to walk alongside me through prayer. I ask that you pray for us to have more discernment of his voice. I ask that you pray for us to have more passion for Him. I ask that you pray that He reveal more of his goodness to us and to allow us to sense his closeness and presence in our lives. I also ask that you pray for wisdom for the GLA staff (Global Leadership Academy) and the future plans they have for the new technical school they plan on building (which they just received their first 1,000,000 Rand donation to) the missionary houses, the kids in the high school and pre-school to grow up with Jesus at the center and whatever else the Lord puts on their hearts.
I am so grateful and appreciative of all of y’all’s participation in our ministry.
I’ve surfed once since being here and we go zip-lining tomorrow. I’m so thankful for God pulling me from darkness, showing and presenting to me the gospel and what Jesus did for us on the cross. I can’t explain the need I had for Christian community and Christian friends and just a real relationship with Him. I have that here and I’m so gosh-darn thankful for it. He is so good and I want each of y’all to experience his goodness like I do! Im also so thankful for how he has put me in a position to now guide others to the Fathers heart, which is so astounding to me. I don’t deserve it but am so thankful that he trusts me with it.
When I depend on him daily with my stress, struggles, leadership, etc. and then get to praise him when he comes and helps me through them. I know he wants to help you with your problems and struggles and anxiousness or boredom or business endeavors or guilt or sadness or whatever it is.
I can only express through my life and experience knowing him, that by praying that you need help, and asking him to come that he will and when he does and when you realize his goodness your life will be changed forever:) it’s so awesome!!!
Have a great rest of y’all’s day. May the Lord bless you and walk before you and guide you and make his presence and goodness known in your lives like he has in mine.
In Christ,
Benjamin
