God’s Moving

Hello again!

I’m writing to you all from the cutest coffee shop in Johannesburg. It’s crazy to think I’ve been away for a month already and am a third of the way done with my trip. I am loving this place more and more every day — sorry mom and dad, but I may be back!

Ministry has been continuing to blow my mind in the ways that God is moving. Just last week, I got to experience 3 salvations during outreach. That’s 3 saved souls, raised from death to life! Praise God! I will never know why God chooses us to be a part of His mighty work, but wow, is it a blessing. Being the Lord’s vessel is my favorite.

To be honest, outreach gets draining really fast. Physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Walking around in the hot sun, going door to door, and hearing about the hardships people face daily can really take a lot out of you. Though through it all, the Lord shows up and reminds me I’m making Him proud. We’ve had people tell us they’ve felt “alive” after talking with us. We’ve had people praise Jesus with us. We’ve had people say they heard the Lord tell them that He wants to enter their heart. We’ve even had people come to tears when we’ve prayed over them. It’s all because of Jesus pouring out of us and into them.

Along with outreach, we’ve been doing something called canvassing. Impact Africa has a ministry called Impact Baby Rescue, and canvassing is where we spread awareness about this resource to the community. Their mission is to provide counseling and assistance to expecting mothers, while also adopting babies who are abandoned into forever homes. Here in Johannesburg, baby dumping is a major crisis. Some mothers feel so helpless, that they think their only option is to leave their baby somewhere (sometimes this is on the street or in the river). Impact Baby Rescue created a baby safe, where mothers can safely leave their baby and know that they will be cared for. I had the privilege of visiting one of the baby homes with my sweet leader Hanna, where we got to care for these sweet souls for a whole day. I got to hold some of the same babies as Tim Tebow, so that’s pretty cool. He partnered with Impact Africa and was here for the grand opening of a baby home that he fully supported.

I’ve definitely been getting my fix of babies and children over here. They have some of the sweetest smiles I’ve ever seen. The hugs they give are unmatched. I was even given an African name by one of the local teenagers one day. She named me “Thandi” which means “one who loves deeply” here. So sweet.

I’m ending with one of my favorite memories thus far. One day we were set to teach in high school classrooms, like we’ve been doing. Except it wasn’t until 30 minutes before when I realized I was actually going to be talking to an entire assembly of students. The nerves were real. Good thing it wasn’t just me talking to them. I felt the Holy Spirit take over and give me the words that these students needed to hear. I ended up leading the group in a posture that I do back home at my church. I had everyone close their eyes and open up their hands to receive a message that God placed on my heart for them.

It went something like this: “If you have no one else in your life to tell you these things, let it be me. When all you hear is the enemy telling you lies about yourself, think of this moment right now. Think of me, a random girl named Kelly who came to your school, and remember that I believe in you. Most importantly, remember these things — You are loved. You are known. You are important. You are valued. You are needed. There is a place and a purpose for you in this life.”

Thanks God for allowing me to reach these sons and daughters of Yours. What a special moment.

I love ya’ll and so does Jesus!