Go!

By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
                                                                                                                               John 13:35It is officially the last week of lecture phase... a bitter sweet time! On the one hand we are sad to be leaving what has been our home for the last 3 months, to say goodbye to friends we have made, and to leave this wonderful Christian community that we are surrounded by.
However.... on the other hand IT IS OUTREACH TIME!!!!  We are so excited to GO, spread The Word of God, share His love and serve His people.

Jared and I are leading a team to East London in 9 days time.  So far our team is 9 people (including Jared and myself).  We have 3 staff members and 4 students, the nationalities that are in our team are Russian, British, Zimbabwean, Swiss, and of course us true South Africans. Jared and I feel it is necessary to lead a team to East London/Eastern Cape as an integral part to the pioneering of the Discipleship Training School we are feeling called to start in East London.

 

We will be camping in East London for 3 weeks, serving the local community, the local churches, ministering to the youth and going into schools.  We will be doing evangelism in malls, beaches, taxi ranks, basically wherever we feel The Lord leading us to.   We also feel it is vital to get the local church prayerfully engaged toward missions.  To ignite a fire deep within them that cannot be controlled, to show them God’s heart when it comes to missions.

Rondawels

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then we will go up to Transkei(Lusikisiki on the map)  for 2 weeks where we will be joining hands with oceans of mercy.  As a team we will be staying with 2 mamas in rondawels (cement huts)/rooms in their houses.  We will be blessed with a beautiful breezy long drop outside and a lovely cosy bucket bath in our rooms.  We will be ministering to orphans, local communities, soup kitchens, serving local churches, house visits and home churches.

Then we will travel up to Swaziland for 2 weeks.  We will be serving an organisation called Shislweni  - who reach out to those suffering with HIV and AIDS.  

Their mission statement is:  

“In a community devastated by poverty, sickness, broken families and death, we want to bring back true Christian hope, not only through our words but also ­- following the perfect example of our Lord, Jesus Christ ­- by reaching out in love to those in need, comforting and supporting them by all means available to us”

During this time we will be serving wherever we are needed, whether it is washing some of those suffering, painting walls or cooking food.  We will also be involved with children’s ministry.

We then head back to East London for a further 2 weeks... Our intention for this is so that we can give feedback to the churches and the people that come alongside us in prayer.  To show them what they have invested in and help them to realise that their support is just as important as us going, that the advancement of the Kingdom happened because of them too!  To show them what God did on outreach, who He touched and how many lives were transformed through His love.

Every team member (including us as leaders) has to pay an outreach fee of R11 500 each.  This covers costs over the 2 and half month period of outreach.  Jared and I have been amazed at how The Lord has been using different circumstances to provide towards this fee.  However, we are still outstanding a large amount (R17 400 to be exact).  As leaders we have to have all monies paid by the time we leave (29 March).  We ask that if after reading this blog post you are feeling led to contribute towards our fees, please can you contact us or do a direct transfer if you would like to remain anonymous.  Please note: NO AMOUNT IS TOO SMALL! We realise that this is only possible with a miraculous provision from God and pray that you will come alongside us in prayer.

We look forward to keeping you updated on what The Lord is doing in ours and the students’ lives and how the outreach develops.

 

Blessings in Christ

Sanchia and Jared                                                                          

BANKING DETAILS:

Jared Wayne Stanford

Bank FNB

cheque account

62176751066
Branch code 211021

Ref: outreach fees     

 

January DTS - What The Lord is doing in the students' lives and what is to come...

Our Father speaks to each and everyone of us, in many different ways for many different reasons. This week I have heard Him loud and clear. We are God's children, heirs to the Kingdom. We walk in His authority over this earth, the authority of The One Who mearly spoke a word and the heavens and the earth were created. All we need is faith, the size of a mustard seed...

 

 

Outreach this week was unlike any of the other weeks. The majority of our team were under spiritual attack, including myself, in a BIG way!! I was not really keen to go to the children this week, not because I didn't want to see them, but because I felt like I had nothing to give them except tears. However, Praise The Lord He encouraged us to take it to Him, give glory to Him and pray!! We drove to the kids ministry in 4 cars, and on our way there 3 out of the 4 cars (without any sort of communication between one another) felt like we were not meant to continue with our lesson plan for the day but rather just play, chat and love the kids...Isn't God good. We arrived, dedicated the time to The Lord and just enjoyed the children's company. Most of us, if not all of us felt that there was 'breakthrough', we were able to take our relationship with the children to a deeper level. This is where true discipleship starts!! I completely understand why the enemy was attacking us so hard, he was fearful of the outcome. HAHA!! ALL GLORY TO GOD!

Needless to say, we all left our outreach in high spirits, headaches, tiredness and sadness to be heard of never again! AMEN!

 

The last few weeks our topics have been on Holy Spirit and Hearing God's voice. This is an incredibly powerful subject, which we have had incredibly annointed speakers for. As I dive deeper into the water with God I realise that He is so present! He is continuosly moulding us, refining us, speaking to us and pouring out His love upon us. I have always known God is omni-present, but I have never felt it with each second of each day. The Lord has really been challenging me to get out of my comfort zone, as outside of my comfort zone I have to rely more on God's strength...ever heard of the saying “when we are weak, He is strong”? And each time that I take this step of faith, I am overwhelmed with His commitment and faithfulness.

Last week we were speaking about prophesy and we had a time of practical...don't know about some of you, but this can be a task that can really stretch you out of your comfort zone...telling people what you think God is saying!!! A few students were chosen to go up for prophesy, while the rest of us sat praying for the students. Then the lecturer would bring his tape recorder to whom ever had a word, which you then spoke out in front of the class. The Lord had shown me a picture of an intersection (I knew it was a 4 way stop but I could not see the option to go straight or right, only left). I had no idea what this meant. Anyway, our speaker then decided to ask if there was anyone that really wanted to stretch themselves beyond what they had initially seen. Of course, me being so eager to grow my spiritual giftings I hesitantly raised my hand. I went up in front of the class and told the student what I had seen, the speaker coaxed me to continue, however I had no idea what this picture meant. I prayed and slowly the Lord revealed to what the picture meant. Then the speaker asked me to continue...oh my goodness, more???I lay hands on the student and continued to pray, step by step the Lord revealed more to me. The finished word was that his next step he needs to take is going to be the only option available and all though it might possibly be a negative road to go down, The Lord is guiding him. His ministry is going to be one of reconciliation and that it will start down this road. This road is going to be a righteous path to walk. I was so grateful to The Lord for not leaving me standing with nothing. For coming through in my weakness and vulnerability.

I want to encourage you to ask The Lord for a word/picture/vision for someone this week. God is always speaking, we just have to be still and listen.

Being blown away...

I thought East London was a windy city.... well Muizenberg takes it to a whole new level!

The wind here in Muizenberg isn't the only thing that is blowing us away... God is!!!

 

We are so thankful to Our Lord for His amazing provision! We have a roof over our heads, food in ALL of our stomachs, clothes on our backs, a car to drive, friends and family around and students  who are so hungry for God!

 

The Lord is really honouring the students hearts and meeting them where they are at. In other words, He truly is all-knowing, all-powerful and all-present! No matter what level of spiritual maturity the students are at The Lord is honouring it, He finds us broken and begins the healing. The key is to take our problems to Him and allow Him to fix them, rather than trying to fix them on our own first.

 

                                                                 Our beautifully comfortable home

 During the past few weeks the lectures have been on “God's Character, Father Heart of God and Grace”. He has really shown Himself to me in a new way, growing my confidence and identity in Him. It is as if my eyes, ears and heart have suddenly been opened to hear/feel God's voice with a new clarity.

This week we started our children's ministry (local outreach) in the heart of the Cape Flats. It was so amazing being able to go to these children as a mother and love them. I have always loved children, but now that I am a mother, there is something more powerful about the love that I have for these children. I felt like The Lord was breaking my heart for what was breaking His heart. These children are constantly surrounded by drugs, alcohol, violence, physical & emotional abuse, and neglect. Whilst playing a game with them where they introduce themselves and say one sentence about who they are, they all took pride in saying how they were once a 'dronkie', 'dagga kop', 'Tik kop', smoker etc. To them, this is where their identity lies!!! Every Thursday until lecture phase is complete I will be taking a team into Parkwood, to go share the gospel and play with the children, but most importantly to shower them with God's love. I pray and have faith that by the end of March they will be introducing themselves with the understanding of who they are in Christ, thus giving them a true identity.

                                                            Some of the girls at our children's ministry

 

On Friday we did a 24 hour prayer event, from 6pm Friday night until 6pm Saturday night. It started off with Jared leading everyone into an amazing Holy Spirit-filled time of worship, everyone commented on how powerful it was. All glory to God!!

My first session was in the 'prayer for the nations' room. Wow, I think back now and realise how tangible The Lord's presence was. We weren't only hearing what we should pray, but He was also giving us the emotion behind the prayer. Our hearts were breaking when His heart was broken and rejoicing when He was rejoicing. He led us to pray for the abandoned, the broken-hearted, the economy, breaking of stongholds, softening of hearts, governments, youth and so much more. One of the scriptures The Lord gave me during this time was:

“Blessed be the name of the Lord now and forever. Everywhere – from east to west – praise the name of the Lord. For the Lord is high above the nations; His glory is higher than the heavens. Who can be compared with the Lord our God, who is enthroned on high? He stoops to look down on heaven and earth. He lifts the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump. He sets them among princes, even the princes of his own people! He gives the childless woman a family, making her a happy mother. Praise The Lord” Psalm 113: 2-9

I was so encouraged when I read this as we were busy praying for the needy and the hurt. I just want to thank Him again for His promises!! The bible is full of His promises for each and every one of us. He is no respecter of persons, Jesus does extraordinary things through ordinary people.

 

I pray that when you read the bible this week, The Lord will reveal to you His promises for you!

Blessings

Sanchia

Had some trouble loading photos last time we posted but problem solved! Here's a few from Zambia. And a video of the cutest boy in the world.

Flying ants. Mmmmm! haha.

 

 

 

 

Chris with some of the boys. Who doesnt like to see a photo of themselves

Bright suits and loud praise.

                                                  The workshop where the magic happens.

It’s been a while!

Apologies for not updating the blog sooner but once again so much has happened since I last posted an update.  We arrived back in East London from Muizenberg after slingshot (a YWAM leadership event) then that same afternoon I left with Rev. Chris from Stirling Presbyterian Church, for Johannesburg en route to Zambia. Since then we returned to East London, enjoyed an amazing Christmas and New Year with our family and have returned once again to Muizenberg to work as staff on the January Discipleship Training School.

To in some way condense all that has happened I am finding it quite difficult. So we have posted some feedback about the Slingshot conference already so that takes us to Zambia...

Chris graciously invited me to come along with him and his colleague, Rev Andre to a village church planting conference in Chipata, Zambia. The trip was amazing, complete with a 120km trip in a manual car fitted with an automatic gear lever!! The 120km took us just under 6 hours until destination. I must say we laughed our heads off though, as our gracious host the Bishop Piri (whom I estimate is around 80 yrs old in the shade and doubt he can see further than 10m ahead), proceeded to argue with a traffic official about the unquestionable roadworthiness of our trusty vehicle. The trip was filled with revelation and flying ants for snacks, but the zeal that this group of Zambian men and women have for The Lord still lingers in my mind. Their selflessness and servant hearts were a blessing to behold, their hospitality is something to cherish and strive toward as they would easily give up their own bed for a stranger and rather go hungry so that that stranger may be fed. That sounds alot like Jesus and the children He calls us to be. Readiness to give up one’s own dreams and desires for the desires and purposes of our Father.  This seemed to be the norm rather than the exception and we can only pray for this in our own people.

So now we are back in Muizenberg, so excited about the work our Father is doing in the lives of the students here. We are also just so excited about the year that lies ahead.  Whilst in India The Lord lay it on our hearts to start a discipleship training school in East London.  And through a sequence of “God-incidences” we connected with YWAM Muizenberg, which will be the parent base to the East London base.  In preparation for the Discipleship Training School in East London, we have joined as staff members to gain experience, develop relationships and of course sow into lives of the 35 students attending the DTS.  Our heart is for more children of God to recognise what their calling is within the Kingdom and to step out in obedience to that calling. 

We pray that The Lord will reveal to you what your calling is within His Kingdom.  Remember not everyone is called to sell up everything and go into full time ministry, but everyone is called to make Jesus Lord of their life and in turn carry out the calling He has chosen for them.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you.

Unite in diversity...

Find God's mission, Find your life!

Going from being cooped up in a house all day with only Elijah to keep me company, into a base with around 200 people (if not more) has been a surprisingly easy transition, thank you Lord!

It is incredible being surrounded by people from so many different nations. Just in our leadership course alone we have koreans, germans, brazillians, ugandans, americans, british and many more.

People of slingshot 2012

It makes you recognise the great diversity Our Lord has created and how each one of us is so unique. This week Maureen Menard (International DTS leader and 1 of 3 vice presidents of YWAM) has been speaking to us, showing us how The Lord has created us to be individuals (unique in His own image). So often we get caught up thinking “more of You God and less of me” however, this is not what God has created. He doesn't want us to lose our personalites, to lose who we are. That is one of the great gifts He has given us. He wants us to become the human that He designed us to be, without sin. Imagine being the person that Our Heavenly Father can see us as, what would that be like? How much more of an impact could we make in this world, how much better of a witness could we be?

I think God is thinking not only “more of Him, but more of our true selves”.

Cape Town is just beautiful

With great diversity in culture, obviously comes different worldviews. David Hamilton, one of our speakers, has started a project to categorise the bible into different spheres/domains of influence. The different spheres being: Family, Education, Church, Government, Media, Celebration and Communication. It is a computer programme which will highlight all scriptures relating to a specifc sphere that you would like to read about.

Now you might think to yourself, why?

After researching and praying the YWAM leaders recognised that to change/impact a nation you have to address their worlview. These 7 spheres basically 'make up' a worldview. The idea behind this is that we gain an understanding of how each of these spheres of society should be implemented as God intended from the beginning, thus gaining a biblical worldview. Imagine a country that is run with biblical principles in all of these spheres...

Can you see now how beneficial this 'sphereview' programme is going to be in discipling the nations and ourselves. He hopes to have the complete bible analysed/categorised by March next year... that is a lot of reading, therefore he has approached a number of people and asked if they would like to take on the task in helping. Jared and I have signed up. Jared will be looking at scripture relating to family and religion throughout the bible and I will be looking at scripture on celebration in the New Testament. With around 50 other people all around the world we hope to take on this task with guidance and understanding from The Lord and amazing time management.

 

I pray that The Lord will show you different areas/spheres in your life where there is room for change. Where your thinking can go from a westernised thought process to one of God's.

 

Have a blessed, Holy Spirit filled week!!

Sanchia